Yoga and Pain Management

Scoliosis affects 2 percent to 3 percent of the population, or an estimated 6 million people in the United States, and there is no cure, the foundation said. Scoliosis affects infants, adolescents and adults worldwide with little regard to race or socioeconomic status.

The primary age of onset for scoliosis is 10 to 15, occurring equally among both genders. The disease can affect the quality of life with limited activity, pain, reduced respiratory function or diminished self-esteem, the foundation said.

Johnson's condition was diagnosed when she was in the 10th grade. She had surgery at age 17 to implant two medal rods to stabilize and straighten her spine. About three years later in 1991, she had the noticeable rods removed, but was then riddled with pain, soreness, numbness and tingling in her back and shoulders.

She learned to live with the pain and thought that it would just be her lot in life. As the pain steadily increased, a friend told her about yoga classes designed to ease the discomfort associated with scoliosis.

"It got to the point where I had to do something," Johnson said. Now at 34, she has learned to manage the pain.

Yoga's benefits and limitations

Valerie Kiser, a Clemmons yoga instructor, said that yoga can be very therapeutic for the discomfort and pain associated with scoliosis.

"I'm not saying it will straighten the back," Kiser said. "Bit it has changed the degree of the curve and reduced the pain by practicing yoga."

Joseph O'Brien, the foundation's president and chief executive officer, said that there can be benefits to practicing yoga. As someone with scoliosis who has had four surgeries, he said he has found some relief with yoga, although he doesn't practice it regularly. "You just have to be careful of what yoga can and cannot do," O'Brien said. "There is no evidence that yoga can reduce the curve or stop the progression of the scoliosis. There is, however, a benefit involved with learning how to breathe, increasing mobility and flexibility."

For Johnson, those are exactly the things that have greatly improved since she started practicing yoga four years ago.