I have lumbar scoliosis, 20 degrees. Also, my left leg is 1cm shorter than the right leg. My question is: can I deadlift and squat without worrying with the progression of the curve? When I squat my foot alignment is different, my right leg stays a bit ahead of my right leg, so there's no imbalance, is this correct, am I doing something wrong? Thank you.
I alluded to some things above. I can give you some general tips for how to train, but I can't really solve this issue for you. Here are just some guidelines:
1. Focus first on building muscle that supports the spine. So heavy squats and deads are good. As are good mornings and rows of all sorts. Do back 3x per week. This includes glutes too.
2. Do not ignore pain in your back especially the low back. If you aren't recovered from a previous session don't push your luck. Say you deadlift Friday and then come in to squat monday. If your back isn't recovered enough to squat with good technique don't squat. Flush the back instead with rows or extensions.
3. Pay attention to your ranges of motion. If you dip to one side as you squat and the opposite knee travels too far in or out compared to the other, use distraction stretches to balance it out. Test, stretch, retest.
4. Kind of similar to 3, but specifically make sure you address thoracic extension and hip extension. Eliminating pelvic tilt and maintaining thoracic extension will keep you in as close to the best position as possible.