Is Soreness After Schroth Exercises Normal? What Is Expected and Which Symptoms to Report

The second morning is usually when it shows up. A fifteen-year-old who sailed through her first Schroth session reaches for a cereal box and feels a pull along one side of her ribs that was not there yesterday. Her mother, watching from the kitchen table, wonders whether the physical therapist pushed too hard, whether the curve is shifting, or whether this is simply what new exercise feels like.

Soreness after Schroth exercises raises exactly that question in thousands of households, and the honest answer has two halves. Most of it is ordinary muscle soreness, the same kind a first week of swimming lessons produces, landing in muscles that have spent years avoiding work. A smaller share is not ordinary at all, and knowing the difference matters more than any single exercise.

This explainer walks through what the method actually does to the trunk, why certain spots ache, how the first weeks tend to unfold, and which symptoms belong in a message to your care team rather than a heating pad.

Is soreness after Schroth exercises normal? What the body is doing

Yes, in most cases, and the reason is mechanical rather than mysterious. Schroth exercises load muscles that scoliosis has quietly let off the hook. On the concave side of a curve, the inside of the bend, the trunk muscles sit shortened and underused. On the convex side, the outside of the bend, they are stretched and often overworked. The method asks the shortened side to lengthen and contract in positions it has rarely visited, which is a textbook recipe for delayed-onset muscle soreness.

Delayed-onset muscle soreness, usually shortened to DOMS, is the dull, achy stiffness that follows unfamiliar or unusually intense exercise. According to the NHS, it typically begins 12 to 24 hours after the activity and can last three to five days, and it is a normal response to new demands on muscle fibers rather than a sign of injury. Microscopic strain within the muscle triggers a repair process, and that repair is what you feel.

Where it lands tells you something. People often notice soreness in the muscles between the ribs, the intercostals, because rotational breathing asks those muscles to expand a collapsed part of the chest wall. Others feel it along the side of the waist, deep in the lower back, or under the shoulder blade on the side being lifted. Mild soreness in the neck and shoulders is common in the first week, usually from unconsciously tensing while holding a corrected posture in front of a mirror.

What normal soreness does not do is spread, sharpen, or travel down a leg. It stays local, it eases with gentle movement, and it is gone before the next session or two. Keep that pattern in mind; the rest of this article explains when a departure from it deserves a phone call.

How Schroth exercises actually work, session by session

The method takes its name from Katharina Schroth, who developed it in Germany in the 1920s after living with scoliosis herself, as Johns Hopkins Medicine describes. Scoliosis is a sideways curve of the spine, usually with a twist, that is diagnosed when the curve measures more than 10 degrees on an X-ray. The Schroth approach treats that twist as a three-dimensional problem and tries to address all three planes at once.

A first appointment is mostly assessment. A trained therapist classifies your curve pattern, meaning where the bends sit and in which direction each one rotates, and then builds exercises specific to that pattern. This is why two people with scoliosis can be given opposite-looking movements. The therapist also records posture, breathing habits, and which movements already feel restricted.

Each exercise follows a similar sequence. First comes elongation, actively lengthening the spine as though a thread were pulling the crown of the head upward. Next is derotation, using the arms, pelvis, and trunk muscles to untwist the curve as far as the body allows. Then comes rotational angular breathing, a technique of directing the breath into the collapsed, concave parts of the rib cage so the ribs themselves help push the trunk toward a straighter shape. Finally, the corrected position is held with an isometric contraction, a muscle contraction without movement, often while pressing a hand against a pole, a wall, or a padded stool.

Mirrors, props, and tactile cues from the therapist are standard, because the goal is to feel what a more neutral spine is like and to recruit the right muscles to keep it there. Over time the exercises are blended into everyday postures: sitting, standing, walking, and breathing. That carryover, rather than the clinic session, is where most of the long-term work happens.

Who Schroth is usually for, and who is usually asked to wait

Scoliosis-specific exercise programs are most often discussed for adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis, meaning a curve with no identified cause that appears during the growth years, and for adults whose curves cause pain or stiffness. Mayo Clinic notes that treatment decisions in young people rest largely on the size of the curve and how much growth remains, which is why therapy is frequently paired with bracing rather than used instead of it. In adults, where the aim is usually comfort and function rather than changing the curve, exercise is often combined with general strengthening.

Not everyone starts straight away. Therapists and spine clinicians commonly ask people to wait, or to be assessed first, in these situations:

• A recent injury, fracture, or flare of acute back pain that has not settled.
• Curves large enough that a surgical opinion is pending; Mayo Clinic describes surgery as a consideration for severe curves, and the surgical team usually wants to guide the exercise plan.
• New numbness, tingling, or weakness in the arms or legs, which needs a medical explanation before any loaded exercise begins.
• Scoliosis linked to a neuromuscular or congenital condition, where the curve behaves differently and the program needs specialist input.
• Known low bone density, because some positions and prop work are adapted to protect the spine.

Age by itself is rarely a barrier. Older adults with degenerative curves, where worn discs and joints contribute to the bend, can often take part with modifications. Children too young to follow precise breathing instructions are usually monitored and given simpler play-based movement until they can.

Who starts, who waits, and what gets modified is a judgment for the treating team, informed by imaging and examination. If you are unsure which group you fall into, that is the first question for your next appointment.

Can scoliosis cause sore muscles even without exercise?

It can, and understanding that helps you separate the ache the curve was already producing from the ache the exercises add. Cleveland Clinic estimates that scoliosis affects roughly 2 to 3 percent of people in the United States. Most adolescents with mild curves report little or no pain, as the NHS points out, but adults more often do, partly because the uneven load has had decades to act on muscles and joints.

Think of the trunk as a tent held up by guy ropes. When the pole leans, the ropes on one side carry more tension than the other. In scoliosis, the muscles on the convex side work harder to hold the body upright, and they can develop the tight, tender bands people describe as knots. The concave side, meanwhile, shortens and stiffens from disuse. Both patterns can produce chronic low-grade soreness, especially after long periods of sitting or standing.

The rib cage adds a second layer. Because the spine rotates as it bends, ribs on one side push backward and the chest wall on the other side flattens. The muscles between those ribs adapt to the new shape and can ache when asked to breathe deeply or twist.

Here is where it gets confusing. When Schroth training starts, the muscles that were already overworked are asked to relax, and the ones that were idle are asked to engage. Soreness may therefore appear in a completely new location, which some people read as the curve getting worse. More often it is simply a redistribution of effort. A therapist can usually tell the difference by checking whether the soreness matches the muscles targeted in the previous session and whether it behaves like ordinary exercise soreness in the days that follow.

Soreness after Schroth exercises versus pain to report: a side-by-side table

Most people can sort what they feel into one of two columns if they know what to look at: location, timing, quality, and what else comes with it. The table below reflects general guidance on exercise-related soreness from the NHS and general red-flag guidance for back symptoms from Mayo Clinic and the NHS; it is a prompt for a conversation, not a tool for diagnosing yourself.

Feature	Expected soreness	Report to your care team
Onset	Appears 12–24 hours after a session	Sudden, during an exercise, or with a pop or tear sensation
Quality	Dull, achy, stiff, tender to touch	Sharp, burning, electric, or throbbing
Location	In the muscles that were worked, often one side of the trunk or ribs	Travels down a leg or arm, into the groin, or around the chest
Course	Peaks by day two or three and fades within three to five days	Worsens each day, or persists beyond a week without change
Movement	Eases with gentle activity and warm-up	Worse with every position, or wakes you at night
Companions	None, or mild fatigue	Numbness, tingling, weakness, fever, bowel or bladder change, breathlessness

Two patterns deserve a specific mention. Pain that strikes in the chest or makes breathing feel tight during rotational breathing drills should not be pushed through, even if it fades quickly, because the breathing component of Schroth is where rib and chest wall problems reveal themselves. Pain that is clearly in the spine itself rather than the muscles beside it, particularly if it is one precise, bony spot, is worth an examination before the next session.

When something sits between the columns, treat it as the right-hand column until a clinician says otherwise. A brief message to your therapist costs little; a missed warning sign can cost weeks.

What the first days and weeks of a Schroth program usually look like

The opening fortnight is where most of the soreness lives. After the first full session, people commonly feel stiffness the next morning in the ribs on the side being expanded and along the waist on the side being lengthened. The NHS describes delayed-onset soreness as typically settling within three to five days, and that timescale matches what therapists tend to see after each new exercise is introduced. Because programs add exercises gradually, a mild wave of soreness can return each time something new appears.

By the third or fourth week, two things usually change. The muscles adapt, a phenomenon exercise physiologists call the repeated bout effect, in which the same workload produces far less soreness the second and third time around. And the exercises themselves start to feel less like gymnastics and more like posture, because the corrected position becomes easier to find without props.

A rough sketch of the typical arc, bearing in mind that your therapist sets the actual pace:

• Week one: assessment, curve classification, two or three foundational positions, a short daily home routine, and the first bout of soreness.
• Weeks two to four: breathing technique refined, holds lengthened, soreness becoming briefer and more localized.
• Months two onward: exercises integrated into daily activities, fewer clinic visits, ongoing home practice, periodic review against imaging in growing adolescents.

Expect energy dips. Holding isometric positions while controlling the breath is tiring in a way that does not look impressive from the outside, and some people feel drained for an evening after sessions early on.

One caution for the timeline: soreness that follows the normal rise-and-fall curve but keeps restarting at the same intensity after months of practice is unusual. It may mean the exercise selection needs adjusting or that something other than muscle is involved, and either way it belongs in a review with the treating team.

Easing muscle soreness after scoliosis exercises without masking a warning sign

The goal is to make ordinary soreness bearable without blunting the signals that tell you something is wrong. Gentle movement does most of the work. A ten-minute walk, slow shoulder circles, or simply repeating the Schroth breathing without the holds increases blood flow to the sore muscles and shortens the stiff phase, which is consistent with the NHS advice that light activity helps delayed-onset soreness pass.

Warmth is comforting for many people, whether a shower or a wheat bag over the ribs, and some prefer a cool pack in the first day. Neither has strong evidence for speeding recovery, so choose whichever feels better. Sleep and hydration matter more than any gadget; muscle repair happens overnight, and a tired trunk recruits the wrong muscles the next day.

Timing your other exercise helps. Starting a new running plan or a heavy strength block in the same week as a new Schroth exercise stacks two sources of soreness and makes it harder to tell which is which. Therapists generally prefer that you keep your usual activities steady while the program beds in.

Pain medicines deserve a word of caution. Over-the-counter pain relievers, whether simple analgesics or anti-inflammatory medicines, can take the edge off muscle soreness, but they can also quiet a sharp or spreading pain that you need to notice. If you are considering using one around sessions, or you already take a prescribed pain medicine, ask the prescribing clinician how that fits with the program. The decision about what to take, and when, belongs with them.

Finally, resist the urge to skip the next session because of mild soreness. Attending and telling the therapist exactly where it hurts lets them adjust the load, and the session itself often loosens things. Skipping should be reserved for the symptoms described later under when to call your doctor.

Can Schroth exercises make scoliosis worse?

There is no good evidence that a correctly classified and supervised Schroth program worsens a curve, and the question usually arises because soreness in a new place feels alarming. Still, honesty about the evidence base matters, because the method is often described online with more confidence than the research supports.

What the evidence shows: scoliosis-specific exercise, including Schroth, has been studied mostly in small trials in adolescents, with results suggesting modest improvements in curve measurement and posture compared with general exercise or observation alone. Johns Hopkins Medicine describes it as an approach that can help slow progression and improve posture and comfort, while the NHS notes that exercise has not been shown to stop curves progressing on its own in growing children, which is why bracing remains the mainstay for curves in the range where progression is likely. Larger, longer trials are still needed, and a sensible clinician will say so.

What the evidence does not show is harm from the method itself. The theoretical risk is doing the wrong exercises for your curve pattern. Because the method is pattern-specific, an exercise that lengthens the concave side of one person’s curve could, if mirrored incorrectly, reinforce the curve in someone whose bend goes the other way. This is the main argument against learning Schroth from generic videos without assessment.

A separate point concerns adults with degenerative curves. In that group, the curve is driven by disc and joint wear, and an overly aggressive derotation effort can flare an irritated joint or disc. That is not the curve worsening; it is a tissue being asked for more than it can give that day. It still deserves reporting, so the therapist can scale the exercise.

If you are worried the curve is changing, the answer lives in follow-up imaging interpreted by your spine team, not in how your muscles feel on a Tuesday.

Schroth method side effects: what the evidence actually shows

Compared with bracing or surgery, exercise therapy sits at the low-risk end of scoliosis care, and published trials rarely report serious adverse events. The side effects people do describe are mostly predictable consequences of asking the trunk and the breath to work in unfamiliar ways. Grading them honestly looks like this.

Common and expected: delayed-onset muscle soreness in the trunk, ribs, and shoulder girdle, especially in the first weeks; general fatigue after sessions; brief stiffness the following morning. These follow the NHS-described pattern for exercise soreness and ease within days.

Fairly common and usually technique-related: lightheadedness during rotational breathing drills, which typically comes from breathing too fast or holding the breath; mild headache from bracing the neck or jaw during isometric holds; tenderness where a hand or pole presses against the ribs. Each of these is a cue to slow down and refine form, and therapists expect to hear about them.

Uncommon and worth reporting: a flare of pre-existing low back or neck pain in adults, rib pain that lingers through a breathing cycle rather than easing, or soreness that keeps intensifying over successive sessions rather than fading. None of these is dangerous by itself, but each suggests the program needs adjustment.

Rare and urgent: new nerve symptoms such as numbness, tingling, or weakness in a limb, loss of bowel or bladder control, chest pain or breathlessness, or sudden severe pain with a tearing sensation. These are not Schroth side effects in any ordinary sense; they signal a problem that needs medical assessment regardless of what triggered it.

One more honest note: because studies have been small, uncommon side effects may be under-reported. The practical response is to tell your therapist about anything new, however minor, so the record for your own case is complete.

Can I do the Schroth method at home?

You can, and you are expected to. Home practice is the engine of the method, not an optional extra. Johns Hopkins Medicine describes patients being taught a program to continue at home after supervised sessions, and most therapists would say that what happens between appointments determines whether the corrected posture becomes habit.

The distinction that matters is between learning and practicing. Learning the method at home from a video or a book is where things go wrong, because the exercises depend on an accurate classification of your curve pattern and on hands-on feedback about which muscles are firing. Two people watching the same video could need opposite movements. Practicing at home what a trained therapist has already tailored and checked is a different matter, and it is how the program is designed to work.

A few practical points make home practice safer and more useful:

• Use a mirror or a propped phone camera so you can check alignment, since the corrected position often feels crooked before it looks straight.
• Keep a simple written sheet of the exercises in the exact form your therapist gave them, including which side each applies to.
• Note where you feel soreness afterward and bring the notes to your next visit; this helps the therapist judge whether the right muscles are working.
• Stop and move on to the next exercise if any position produces sharp pain, dizziness, or tingling rather than effort.

How often and how long to practice is set by your therapist and varies with age, curve size, and schedule. Resist the temptation to double the volume when progress feels slow; more repetitions of an exercise done slightly wrong simply reinforce the error. Consistency, with periodic in-person checks to catch drift in technique, is what the method relies on.

How to prevent scoliosis from getting worse: what the evidence supports

Progression, meaning the curve increasing over time, is the central worry behind almost every scoliosis question, and it helps to separate what is proven from what is hoped. Mayo Clinic frames the risk around two factors in young people: the size of the curve and how much growth remains. Larger curves in children with a lot of growth ahead are the most likely to progress, which is why monitoring during the adolescent growth spurt is so close.

Measures with solid guideline backing in growing adolescents include regular review with repeat X-rays at intervals the spine clinician sets, and bracing for curves in the moderate range. Mayo Clinic notes that bracing is generally considered for curves between 25 and 40 degrees in a child who is still growing, that braces are usually worn for 13 to 16 hours a day, and that the benefit rises with the number of hours worn. Bracing does not straighten the spine; its purpose is to stop the curve getting bigger while growth finishes.

Scoliosis-specific exercise, including Schroth, sits one rung down the evidence ladder. It is reasonable to use alongside bracing or observation, and small trials suggest a modest effect on curve measurement, but it has not displaced bracing in guidelines.

In adults, where growth is complete, the drivers of progression are different: disc degeneration, joint wear, and bone density loss. Maintaining general fitness, trunk strength, and bone health through weight-bearing activity, adequate calcium and vitamin D as advised by a clinician, and not smoking all support the spine, although none has been shown to alter the curve itself.

What has no evidence of preventing progression: chiropractic adjustments, dietary supplements marketed for scoliosis, posture gadgets, and inversion tables. Being honest about that list saves money and time that are better spent on measures that do work.

What people often get wrong about Schroth and soreness

Myths cluster around any therapy that involves effort, and a few are worth dismantling directly.

“If it does not hurt, it is not working.” Soreness is a byproduct of unfamiliar load, not a measure of benefit. Once muscles adapt, which the NHS notes happens as the same exercise is repeated, soreness fades even though the exercise is doing exactly what it did before. A quiet session after a month is a sign of adaptation, not of failure.

“Soreness means the curve is being straightened.” Muscles can ache without the spine moving at all. Any change in curve measurement is judged on imaging by the spine team, over months, not by sensation.

“Soreness on the wrong side means the therapist got it backward.” Not necessarily. Because the method asks overworked convex-side muscles to let go while concave-side muscles engage, the sore spot can appear on either side depending on which muscles were underused. Raise it with the therapist, but do not assume an error.

“Schroth can replace a brace.” For growing adolescents with moderate curves, guidelines still place bracing at the center of care, and exercise is used alongside it. Stopping a prescribed brace in favor of exercise alone is a decision for the spine team, and the evidence does not support making it unilaterally.

“Adults are too old for the method.” Adults rarely see curve measurement change, but pain, posture, and breathing capacity can improve, which is often what matters at that stage.

“Pushing through pain speeds results.” Sharp or spreading pain is information, not an obstacle. Pushing through it risks irritating a disc or joint and can set the program back by weeks. The method rewards precision far more than intensity.

Questions to ask your care team

A fifteen-minute appointment goes further when the questions are ready. These are the ones that tend to change what happens next, and the answers will differ from person to person, so write yours down.

• What is my curve pattern, and which of my exercises are specific to it? Knowing this helps you spot if a home exercise has drifted to the wrong side.
• Where should I expect to feel soreness after each exercise, and where would soreness worry you? A therapist who has seen hundreds of trunks can usually predict this.
• How many days of soreness is typical after a new exercise, and at what point should I message you?
• Should I keep my brace schedule exactly the same while the program starts, and are there exercises to do in or out of the brace?
• How will we know if the program is helping: imaging intervals, posture photographs, breathing measures, or symptom diaries?
• Are there activities I should pause during the first weeks, such as heavy lifting or a new sport, to avoid stacking soreness?
• If I already take a pain medicine, should I change anything around sessions? Leave the answer to the prescriber.
• Is this program covered by my insurance plan, and what documentation or referral does the insurer need? Coverage varies widely by plan and region, and the clinic’s administrative team or your insurer can confirm details.
• What signs would make you want me to stop the program and see the spine doctor sooner than planned?

Bring a short note of any soreness you have had so far, where it sat, and how long it lasted. That record is more useful to the team than a general sense that things have been achy, and it lets them scale the next session accurately. The decisions, from exercise selection to bracing and imaging, stay with the treating team; your job is to give them good information.

When to call your doctor

Most soreness after Schroth exercises never needs a doctor. The symptoms below are the exceptions, drawn from general red-flag guidance for back symptoms from the NHS and Mayo Clinic, and they should prompt a same-day call to your therapist, your spine clinician, or urgent care rather than another week of waiting.

• New numbness, tingling, or weakness in a leg or arm, or a foot that drags or trips.
• Any change in bladder or bowel control, or numbness around the groin or inner thighs; this combination needs emergency assessment.
• Chest pain, breathlessness, or a racing heart during or after breathing exercises that does not settle quickly with rest.
• Sudden severe pain during an exercise, especially with a popping or tearing sensation.
• Pain that wakes you repeatedly at night, or that is constant regardless of position.
• Fever, unexplained weight loss, or feeling generally unwell alongside new back pain.
• A fall or impact to the back during the program, even if pain seems minor at first.

A second, less urgent group of symptoms warrants a message before the next session: soreness that is clearly getting worse each day rather than fading, soreness still unchanged after a week, pain that has moved from muscle into one precise bony spot on the spine, or a visible change in your posture or rib prominence that you or a family member has noticed. In a growing adolescent, a sudden change in how clothes fit or how the shoulders sit can be the first sign of a curve moving and justifies an earlier review.

When in doubt, describe the symptom plainly, say when it started and what you were doing, and let the clinician decide the urgency. Nobody on a spine team minds a call that turns out to be ordinary soreness.

Frequently asked questions

Can scoliosis cause sore muscles even on days I do not exercise?

Yes. A curved and rotated spine loads the trunk unevenly, so muscles on the outer side of the bend work harder and can become tight and tender, while muscles on the inner side shorten and stiffen. Adults notice this more than adolescents because the imbalance has acted for longer. Starting Schroth can shift where that soreness sits as effort moves to underused muscles, which is usually expected rather than a sign of worsening.

Can I do the Schroth method at home without a therapist?

Home practice is central to the method, but the exercises should first be tailored by a trained therapist who has classified your curve pattern. The same movement can be corrective for one curve and counterproductive for its mirror image, so generic online routines carry real risk of reinforcing the bend. Once your program is set and checked in person, daily practice at home, with periodic reviews, is exactly how the method is meant to work.

Does insurance cover the Schroth method?

Coverage varies widely by plan, region, and whether the program is billed as physical therapy with a documented diagnosis. Some plans cover scoliosis-specific therapy under standard physical therapy benefits, while others require prior authorization or a referral from a spine specialist. The most reliable route is to ask your insurer directly and to have the clinic’s administrative team confirm what documentation, such as imaging reports and a referral, they need.

How can I prevent scoliosis from getting worse while doing Schroth?

In growing adolescents, the evidence-backed measures are regular imaging review and bracing for curves in the moderate range, which Mayo Clinic describes as roughly 25 to 40 degrees in a child still growing. Schroth exercises are a reasonable addition but have not replaced bracing in guidelines. In adults, general fitness, trunk strength, bone health, and not smoking support the spine, although none has been shown to change the curve itself.

Can Schroth exercises make scoliosis worse?

There is no good evidence that a correctly classified and supervised program worsens a curve. The realistic risk comes from doing the wrong pattern of exercises, for instance mirroring a movement meant for a curve bending the other way, which is why assessment comes first. New soreness in an unfamiliar place usually reflects muscles being used differently, not the spine moving. Curve changes are judged on follow-up imaging by your spine team.

What are the most common Schroth method side effects?

Muscle soreness in the trunk, ribs, and shoulders during the first weeks, fatigue after sessions, and brief morning stiffness are the usual ones, and they follow the normal course of exercise-related soreness. Lightheadedness during breathing drills and mild headaches from clenching during holds are technique-related and ease with coaching. Nerve symptoms, chest pain, or bowel or bladder changes are not side effects of the method and need prompt medical assessment.

Why do Schroth exercises cause back pain in the middle of my curve?

The apex of a curve, the point of greatest bend, is where the rotation is largest and where muscles on the inner side are most shortened. Derotation and breathing exercises target precisely that region, so a dull ache there in the day or two after a session is common. Sharp, bony, or spreading pain at the apex is different and should be reported so the therapist can check technique and load before you continue.

How long does muscle soreness after scoliosis exercises usually last?

Ordinary delayed-onset soreness typically starts 12 to 24 hours after a session and fades within three to five days, according to NHS guidance on exercise-related pain. Each newly introduced exercise can bring a smaller wave, but repeated practice of the same movements produces less soreness over subsequent weeks. Soreness that lasts beyond a week without change, or that intensifies session after session, is unusual and worth raising with your care team.

Should I skip a Schroth session if I am still sore?

Mild, dull soreness is not usually a reason to skip. Attending and telling the therapist exactly where it hurts allows them to adjust the load, and the session itself often loosens stiff muscles. Skipping is appropriate when you have the warning symptoms described in this article, such as sharp or spreading pain, numbness, weakness, chest symptoms, or fever. In that case, contact the therapist or your doctor before the next session rather than simply missing it.

Is it normal to feel dizzy during Schroth breathing exercises?

Brief lightheadedness is fairly common early on and usually results from breathing too quickly or holding the breath while concentrating on a corrected position. Slowing the breath and pausing between repetitions typically resolves it, and therapists expect to coach this. Dizziness that comes with chest pain, breathlessness, a racing heart, or fainting is a different matter and should be reported straight away so the cause can be checked before you continue.

References

• NHS: Scoliosis
• NHS: Why do I feel pain after exercise?
• NIH NIAMS: Scoliosis in Children and Teens
• Cleveland Clinic: Scoliosis

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.