He is tall, dark and handsome. He takes only 41 strides to cover 100-metres. His much shorter competitors take an average of 46. He is only 26 years of age and has already cemented himself as arguably the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the legend, Usain St. Leo Bolt.
He gives the idiom “Off to a running start” a whole new meaning. He redefines it. And if you’re a sports lover like myself, he gives you 200 goosebumps everytime he puts one foot infront of the other on that tartan track. One would think to be such a tremendous athlete everything would fit in perfectly, and from afar he seems to be of that nature, until I stumbled across this quote “BUT IF I KEEP MY CORE AND BACK STRONG, THE SCOLIOSIS DOESN’T REALLY BOTHER ME”. The guy runs 9.58 seconds over 100-metres…and he has scoliosis????
Scoliosis is the abnormal curvature of the spine. Usain Bolt was born with scoliosis. Scoliosis usually occurs in children and youth. It can appear as early as age three but is more commonly detected between ages up to 14. It is more common in girls and it runs in families. In most cases, there is no known cause for scoliosis and so long as the abnormal curvature is not severe, most people with scoliosis do not have any symptoms.
When symptoms exist the most common symptoms are lower back pain, back fatigue with 
prolonged sitting or standing, difficulty breathing (severe cases) and low self-esteem associated with the impact scoliosis can have on your posture.
Scoliosis can be fairly easy to detect. In our clinic we perform a routine physical examination of each patient which can help identify signs of scoliosis. Uneven shoulders or pelvis/hips can be a sign. You can look at the exposed back and see a characteristic “S” or “C” curve of the spine. Asking a person to bend over, knees together as you look from behind often reveals an abnormal curvature of the spine or a hump if the ribs are involved.
Instead of running towards a westernized approach such as a brace or a painful surgery, Bolt 
uses chiropractic. He doesn’t only use it to treat his condition or injuries, but even when he is healthy he uses it to enhance his performance. His chiropractor, (whom holds the same qualification as Dr. Leader and Dr. Saukonnen at our clinic) Dr. Michael Douglas, the Jamaican Olympic Team’s official chiropractor uses a combination of traditional chiropractic techniques and sport rehabilitation to make sure Bolt is in no less than perfect shape.
