Scoliosis can make you unsure about exercise or uncomfortable in everyday tasks. We use Schroth-specific practice, strength and education to help you move with more confidence.
One-on-one with Dr. Emily Warren, DPT, Cert. MDT. McKenzie certified · No referral needed. Holladay PT and virtual coaching from anywhere.
DPT, Cert. MDT
Your story comes first with Dr. Emily
Emily’s early work in neurological rehabilitation shaped her interest in movement, pain and what people want to get back to.
Emily asks how your spine affects daily activity, comfort and confidence. She considers your examination, curve history and any medical guidance when choosing movement and strength practice, and discusses when input from another specialist would be useful.
Meet Emily and explore her approach · Request a Free Case Review to discuss how to build confidence in everyday movement.
Adolescent and adult scoliosis need different decisions
Scoliosis involves a sideways curve and rotation of the spine. Your age, curve history and symptoms help us decide what care should focus on.
For a growing adolescent, remaining growth and curve progression influence monitoring and bracing decisions. Exercise should fit alongside the scoliosis specialist’s plan, including any brace instructions.
For an adult, useful goals may be standing through meal preparation, walking farther, lifting more comfortably or returning to the gym. Curve measurements provide context; we also want to know how your back is affecting daily life.
What useful progress can look like
We choose a few changes you can recognize in your own day. That might mean less fatigue while cooking, a more comfortable walk or enough confidence to resume a favorite exercise.
- Daily comfort and capacity: track a task, how long you can manage it and how you feel afterward.
- Strength and independence: build the demand gradually and learn how to use your cues without needing us beside you.
- The right follow-up: review symptoms and function with us, while your specialist follows curve measurements and growth when indicated.
There is encouraging evidence that adults with scoliosis can improve daily function. In a trial of 130 adults with idiopathic curves below 35 degrees, a 20-week program combining active self-correction, task practice and cognitive-behavioral therapy improved disability more than general PT, with benefits maintained a year after treatment. This was a combined rehabilitation program, not a trial of Schroth treatment alone.
You can make meaningful progress even when the curve itself remains. We account for bone health, previous surgery and nerve symptoms, and adjust your plan when the response calls for it.
Pain and imaging: a general explanation from Dr. Emily
Dr. Emily uses an overflowing-cup analogy to explain why pain can have several contributors. This is general pain education to complement your individualized scoliosis care.
Key points from the video
- Imaging findings can be one contributor to pain.
- Activity, sleep, stress and nervous-system sensitivity can also play a part.
- You may have options for improving comfort and activity without changing every scan finding.
How the Schroth method fits your scoliosis physical therapy
Dr. Emily uses Schroth-specific treatment at Mindful Movement PT. This includes positioning, breathing and movement practice chosen for your individual curve pattern, rather than one correction everyone copies. We work in three dimensions because scoliosis involves rotation as well as a sideways curve.
In a session, that can mean finding a supported position, learning where to direct your breathing and practicing how to carry a helpful cue into sitting or standing. We then connect that practice with strength, endurance and the activities that matter to you.
Turn home practice into something useful
Home practice has to fit a real day. Tell Emily which part of the positioning, breathing or strength work makes sense and which part still feels confusing or difficult. We choose a few priorities around your curve-specific care and goals, practice them together and explain how they connect with the activity you want to enjoy more comfortably.
- Recreate the setup. Use the position, support and cues practiced together. Ask us to clarify anything you cannot reproduce comfortably.
- Practice the agreed amount. Focus on the breathing and movement you learned before adding more time or resistance.
- Connect it with your day. For example, if standing to prepare dinner is tiring, we can practice a relevant position, plan manageable breaks and build your standing tolerance. Notice whether the task becomes easier over time.
Where McKenzie assessment and pain education fit
Schroth-specific treatment works with your scoliosis pattern. McKenzie assessment may help us understand accompanying back or leg symptoms by comparing your response to selected movements or positions. It does not replace curve-specific care. Pain education helps you make sense of symptoms without assuming every uncomfortable movement means your curve is worsening.
We explain why an exercise is in your plan, so practice feels purposeful rather than like an ever-growing checklist.
Coordinating with your specialist
Bring relevant imaging reports, information about progression, any brace instructions and recommendations from your treating specialist. PT can support your care plan, but should not replace scheduled curve monitoring or an indicated specialist review.
New or worsening weakness, sensory changes or significant changes in symptoms need prompt clinical reassessment.
Appointments and further information
In-person PT: meet with Dr. Emily at our Holladay clinic, serving Greater Salt Lake City.
Virtual coaching from anywhere: direct video calls with a PT, an exercise program with video demonstrations and messaging between visits can support movement education and home practice. We discuss whether coaching fits your needs; if clinical PT is needed, we confirm availability for your location and whether an in-person examination is the better starting point.
See Dr. Emily’s short hybrid-care announcement.
Our back-pain physical therapy guide covers associated symptoms.
Choosing scoliosis physical therapy or Schroth therapy near you
Ask how the provider adapts care to your curve, symptoms, age and goals, and how home practice fits with any specialist monitoring or brace instructions. Dr. Emily uses Schroth-specific positioning, breathing and movement practice alongside strength and education. Your plan should explain what to practice and how to notice useful change in daily life.
MMPT provides in-person scoliosis PT in Holladay, serving Greater Salt Lake City. Bring relevant reports and the activity you want help with to a Free Case Review. We can also discuss the suitable visit format when you are not nearby.
Questions about exercise and everyday life with scoliosis
Can I lift weights or keep going to the gym?
Often, yes. A scoliosis diagnosis does not automatically mean giving up strength training. We look at your symptoms, curve history, bone health and any surgical or specialist restrictions, then choose a manageable starting point. That might mean a lighter load, more support or a smaller range while you learn the movement. Build one demand at a time and notice how you feel later that day. The goal is useful strength for your life, with a plan that fits you.
Will treatment straighten my curve or help me feel better?
We focus on goals such as comfort, strength, endurance and confidence with activity. We do not promise that PT will straighten an adult curve. Feeling better and doing more are worthwhile changes even when an X-ray looks similar. For someone who is still growing, scoliosis-specific exercise can be part of a broader plan that includes monitoring and sometimes bracing. A change in pain alone does not tell us whether a curve has progressed.
How do I practice the breathing and positioning at home?
Start with the setup Dr. Emily has practiced with you, not a correction copied from someone whose curve looks similar online. Ask where to place your body, which support to use and what you should feel as you breathe. We can use feedback such as a mirror or a hand cue to make the instructions easier to understand. You should be able to breathe comfortably rather than strain to hold a position. If the setup is confusing, we simplify or review it before adding more practice.
What if the exercises are uncomfortable or not helping?
Tell us which part is difficult: finding the position, breathing, the amount of practice or symptoms afterward. We can adjust the setup, support or demand and retest a task that matters to you. More repetitions are not automatically the answer. Stop a movement that repeatedly worsens or spreads symptoms and ask us to review it; new or increasing weakness or sensory changes need clinical reassessment.
Would we use Schroth-specific treatment, McKenzie care or both?
They answer different questions. Schroth-specific treatment works with your curve, positioning and breathing. McKenzie assessment explores how accompanying pain and movement change with selected positions or repeated movements. We may use both, then connect your plan with strength and the activity you want back. We explain the purpose of each exercise so your home program stays manageable.
How will we decide whether I am making progress?
Choose a task you would like to do more comfortably, such as preparing dinner, taking a walk or completing a gym session. Note the amount you can manage, fatigue and how you feel afterward. We review those changes along with your technique and confidence using the plan. Agree on a checkpoint with Dr. Emily so a routine that is not helping gets reconsidered. Curve monitoring remains a separate part of specialist care when needed.
Evidence and further reading
Back and leg care — Google review: Kim P.
“She quickly identified my back and leg issues within just a few appointments, leading to immediate improvements in my condition.”
Make scoliosis care useful in your own life
You can bring us the questions your curve has raised, whether you want to get back to the gym, feel less tired on a walk or understand how to practice at home. In your Free Case Review, we’ll listen and help you decide whether working with Dr. Emily feels like a useful next step.
Send a request and we’ll contact you by phone or text to arrange a time. This conversation is separate from your first 60-minute PT assessment. No referral needed.
Choose care at our Holladay clinic or explore virtual coaching from anywhere.
You can also call or text (385) 332-4939.