When I say I understand what you’re feeling, I mean that I have scoliosis and I live the changes day-to-day. I built Scolio-Pilates® because I needed it, and for more than 20 years I’ve been teaching it to people who needed it too, in over 20 countries, in hospitals, in living rooms. Whatever your curve looks like, whatever you’ve been told, there is so much you can do.
— Karena Thek, Founder of Scolio-Pilates®
Has your child just been diagnosed? Feeling overwhelmed? It’s going to be ok. Take a deep breath: you are doing a great job being an advocate for your child. Scoliosis-specific exercise works in the observation and bracing phases, and if surgery is ever needed, your child will have the strongest body possible before and after. We are excited to help them find the strength that comes with having scoliosis.
“The Scolio-Pilates exercises you have taught her have been life-changing.” — Julie B., camp parent
On your first Scolio-Pilates visit, we find exercises that work for your child, not only physically but mentally: what’s interesting to them, what they love doing, and how the exercises can fit into their life. They’ll leave with exercise homework that works into their day, in class, standing in line at school, at sports, or on the floor in front of the television, so it never feels like one more thing on a hectic schedule. Ask your practitioner about the Home Exercise Program Handbook to help them remember their exercises.
Whether you were diagnosed as a child or your diagnosis just came in, you can make changes with scoliosis at any age. Our goal is to teach your spine to move with ease. Let’s give your body more space, freedom, and support in everything you do.
“Since seeing you I haven’t had any major back pain. When a tweak comes, it’s gone within minutes using my Scolio-Pilates homework.” — Nisreen W.
Scoliosis-specific corrections with wedges to nudge the spine towards center, and exercises to strengthen in that corrected position. We move from one exercise to the next, from breathing to lying on your back and your stomach. But as always with Scolio-Pilates, your body and your needs dictate the path. Let’s get your life back: back in the mountains, on your bike, on the water, and definitely, back in the garden.
Can you do Scolio-Pilates if you are fused? Yes. Absolutely, yes! The focus changes less than you’d think. We look at the spine above and below the fusion, and within it we work on ribs, breathing, and rotation. It’s always about the goals: what is it that you want to do? Is your spine preventing that?
We will look at your X-ray together and decide the best course of action based on your history with your fusion and your goals. We work to create strength to support your fusion, and we look for the nuanced changes that allow the structure supporting the fusion to rest, to work less hard, to let go, letting the surrounding tissues take over part of the job. Scoliosis-specific corrections help release tight tissues, create balance, and relieve tension.
Bring your spine; bring your brace! We’ll strengthen out of the brace, learn to lift up and out of it so you have more space, and even breathe and move in it so you never feel stuck. We’ve got your back. And so does your brace.
Please bring your brace to your first session. We’d like to see how it fits and how you move in it. Then we take it off for your Scolio-Pilates program: pictures, exercise, moving and strengthening. In later visits it’s always good to have the brace along, in case we spend time moving while wearing it. Whether it’s getting up and down or running and playing, we can help you troubleshoot movement with your brace.
Lengthen the spine towards neutral. Length eases compression, and you’ll feel how much easier it is to move.
Corrective breathing opens the areas of your ribs and lungs that scoliosis constrains.
Wedges gently guide your rotation towards center, supporting your spine exactly where it needs it.
Build strength in your new alignment, so your spine can live there. You are creating a neuro-muscular new normal.
The result: less pain, easier breathing, better posture, and the strength to keep doing the things you love.
Evidence-based, and used by medical practitioners in hospitals nationwide, including the physical therapy team at Dayton Children’s Hospital. Proud partners of Balanced Body and the National Scoliosis Clinic.
Individual results vary. Photos show postural change achieved with Scolio-Pilates® exercise and are shared with each client's permission.
A structured introduction to the concepts, corrections, and movements of Scolio-Pilates, designed for people with scoliosis who are starting their journey towards a more aligned body.
A live class with Karena every Thursday, with your questions answered at the end. Can’t make it live? Every class lands in your library, alongside 100+ full classes and 5-minute pick-me-ups.
Work with an Authorized Scolio-Pilates Practitioner and learn the exercises for your very best scoliosis life. Nobody nearby? No worries, we all work virtually.
Teens and adults come together to strengthen and celebrate your beautiful, curvy spine, with the camaraderie of others who truly get it. You’ll go home with everything you need for at-home success.
Scolio-Pilates®: Exercise for Scoliosis, by Karena Thek. Understand your spine first, from your own couch, and meet the exercises at your own pace.
Yes. Absolutely, yes. Thousands of fused spines have worked with Scolio-Pilates. The focus shifts: we work with the spine above and below the fusion, and within it we focus on ribs, breathing, and rotation. We’ll look at your X-ray together, talk about your history and your goals, and build from there. If you’ve had recent surgery, get your surgeon’s clearance for exercise first, then come see us.
None at all. Scolio-Pilates meets you exactly where you are, whether you’ve never exercised or you’re a lifelong athlete. Every exercise starts with your specific curve and your current ability, and builds from there. If you can breathe, you can start.
No, and we wouldn’t want it to. Scolio-Pilates works alongside your medical care, not instead of it. Keep your doctor for monitoring and guidance, keep your brace if it’s been prescribed (we’ll even teach you to move and breathe more comfortably in it), and think of Scolio-Pilates as the daily movement practice that supports everything else. Medical teams trust this approach: hospital physical therapy teams, including at Dayton Children’s Hospital, train in Scolio-Pilates.
No worries, we all work virtually. Our Authorized Practitioners work with clients around the world by video, and it works remarkably well: your practitioner sees your alignment, guides your corrections, and adjusts your program in real time. You can also start from home today with On Demand classes or the Foundation program.
It’s a process, and we’ll be honest about that. Many people feel something in their very first session: more length, easier breathing, a glimpse of what their spine can do. Lasting change, the strength that holds your new alignment through your day, builds over weeks and months of consistent practice. The people you met in the results above all say a version of the same thing: be diligent, don’t give up, and the change comes.
It is not too late. Regardless of age, you can make changes with scoliosis. Many of our clients come to us in their 60s, 70s, and beyond, often with degenerative curves, and find less pain and more freedom of movement. The exercises adapt to your body, not the other way around.
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