Stretch to Win - Fascial Stretch Therapy® gets first mention in helping scoliosis & leg length discrepancy in Canada's top fashion magazine.

1. 236 ELLE CANADA ELLECANADA.COM
body
geoffreyross
MY DILEMMA I’m a little unbalanced.
At least—my hips are. Since I was 13, one of
my hips has always appeared higher than the
other. It was my ballet teacher who first spot-
ted the problem: I was mid-plié when she
asked me to bend forward so she could get a
closer look at my alignment. She im­mediately
recommended an X-ray, which confirmed
that I have scoliosis, a curvature of the spine
that affects three in every 100 people. After
that diagnosis, it felt safe to assume that my
prima-ballerina career would be short-lived.
Dashed dancing dreams aside, I’m lucky: My
The quest for perfect alignment. BY Alannah O’Neill
improves posture,” he says. By targeting the
fascia (the connective tissue that surrounds
joints), this painless method of stretching en-
courages muscles that have tightened (and, in
some cases, knotted) from years of improper
alignment to release. This allows for greater
flexibility and range of motion. During my
first fascia session, I lie down on a massage
table, skeptical, as Lin guides each of my legs
through resistance. An hour later, he smiles.
“Go look in the mirror,” he instructs. I’m
amazed to see that my hips look significantly
more symmetrical. Fascial stretching is still
a relatively new treatment—Ann and Chris
Frederick (Arizona-based husband-and-wife
physical therapists) developed it in 1999—but
it has already been adopted by scores of pro-
fessional athletes. In fact, the U.S. Olympic
judo team had an army of fascial therapists
on hand when they competed in the 2012
Olympic Games. A one-hour session will set
you back about $100, but the results are
perma­nent if you supplement the sessions
with daily at-home exercises.
BalancingAct
scoliosis is mild enough that I have never re-
quired a back brace. And while the condition
doesn’t cause any pain, it does provide some
style challenges. Forget body-hugging pencil
skirts or skin-tight T-shirts—baggy silhou-
ettes are the best disguises for my lopsided
look. Not willing to accept my (slightly
crooked) fate, I decide to find out if there’s a
way for me to straighten up my act.
IN YOUR FASCIA I start with fa­scial
therapy from Charles Lin, a Toronto-based
personal trainer and specialist in the field.
“It’s a great treatment option for people with
scoliosis because it increases flexibility and
ELECTRIC SHOCK A week after
my fascial experience, I find myself strapped
to a motorized table at the cheery Leaside
Family Chiropractic & Scoliosis Center in
Toronto, supported by a machine that’s de-
signed to pull the curve out of my spine and
restructure my ligaments. Surprisingly, this
shaky stretching isn’t painful; it’s actually
relaxing enough for me to drift off to the
soundtrack of its subtle electric hum. After my
treatment, Dr. Jacob Kang, the practice’s h
{b ody trip }

2. ELLECANADA.COM
founder, delivers some incredible
news. “Your hips are perfectly
straight,” he explains, studying an
X-ray of my spine. “There’s an ap-
pearance of uneven hips because of
the placement of the curve in your
lower back. By addressing the spinal
curvature, we should be able to create
the appearance of more symmetrical
hips.” With this promise in mind,
I embark on a biweekly treatment
program that combines the Schroth
Method—posture-specific exercises
designed to lengthen asymmetrical
muscles—and the Clear Method,
which uses different pieces of motor-
ized equipment, like said motorized
table, to restore range of motion.
Treatment programs can run from
$60 to $225 per session, depending
on the severity of the case, and each
session lasts up to two hours. Because
this treatment feels more intense than
the fascial therapy, I’m convinced it’s
effective. Each time I leave the clinic,
I walk straighter and taller and am
more aware of my movements.
Verdict In less than three months
of fascial stretching and steady shak-
ing, I notice that my weight is distrib-
uted more evenly when I stand. (I’m
no longer resting on my right hip.)
I’ve even started wearing pencil skirts.
The change feels miraculous. n
body
It’s not just scoliosis that causes hip
imbalances, says Dr. Jacob Kang of
the Leaside Family Chiropractic &
Scoliosis Center in Toronto. “Some
people have one leg that’s shorter
than the other, while others have
collapsed arches in the feet or knee
problems.” And cubicle dwellers,
beware: Sitting all day with crossed
legs can do major damage. “Some
women will hold heavy purses on one
side of their bodies their whole lives,”
adds Kang. “This can often lead to
postural abnormalities.”
HIPS DON’T LIE