August 17, 2017

Living With Scoliosis: What's It Really Like?

erika Living with Scoliosis

People living with scoliosis

Just because you’ve been diagnosed with scoliosis, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change the way you live. Even individuals with fairly pronounced spinal curves can enjoy a high quality of life as long as their condition is treated and their symptoms properly managed. If you’re concerned about the challenges that come with a curved spine, perhaps we can help to reassure you. Here are the stories of three people who know what living with scoliosis is really like – all of them have undergone treatment here at the Scoliosis SOS Clinic in London and their experiences hopefully demonstrate that, as problematic as this condition can be, it doesn’t have to drastically alter your life!  

Phoebe Kaniewska

15 years old // London Phoebe was diagnosed with scoliosis as a pre-teen. When her mother noticed that her hips looked uneven, she went to the GP and – after being referred to a specialist – was told she had a 30-degree curve in her spine. The doctor thought she had finished growing, but when she returned a year later she had grown a lot more, and this had caused her scoliosis to progress by 15%. Phoebe was told that spinal fusion surgery would reduce the visibility of her curves, but as she herself states in the video below, she “wasn’t worried about anything to do with looks”. She was, however, concerned about the pain that she experiencing; it wasn’t too bad to begin with, occurring only when she bent down, but that occasional pain gradually progressed until was a big part of Phoebe’s life. She was also concerned about the effect that scoliosis might have on some of her favourite activities – would her spinal curve limit her ability to row and run?

Phoebe came to the Scoliosis SOS Clinic for treatment and was pleased to find her pain beginning to recede. We are pleased to report that she is still a keen runner and rower, and when she does experience pain/tension as a result of her scoliosis, she finds that massage and Kinesio tape are great for relieving these symptoms.  

Rowan Cottee

22 years old // Essex Rowan first visited our clinic in 2012. He works as an IT technician, and thus spends a lot of time sitting at a desk. This can be bad for anybody’s posture, but when you already have a curved spine, full-time desk work can be very problematic indeed.

For Rowan, one of the most important parts of living with scoliosis is concentrating on his posture. The treatment he received here at Scoliosis SOS made him a lot more aware of his posture, and he now makes sure to sit/stand up as straight as possible wherever he is. He returns to our clinic regularly to make sure he doesn’t slip into any bad habits, and we’ve taught him a number of stretches and exercises to help him relieve aches and pains when they occur.  

Carol Inskipp

68 years old // Cambridgeshire Carol is a very enthusiastic hiker who frequently goes on treks in other parts of the world. She got in touch with Scoliosis SOS because she was suffering from what she describes as “conspicuous” scoliosis with “a lot of pain”. Scoliosis posed a number of problems for Carol, not least the possibility that she might have to hang up her walking boots. Her doctor informed her that, while she’d had a good run, it would not be a good idea for her to carry on putting stress on her body by walking miles and miles over rough terrain. Here’s what she had to say after completing a treatment course at our clinic:

“My pain disappeared, my back looked much better. Friends said so, family said so…the pain’s gone.”

When the above video was filmed, Carol had recently returned from a trek to Nepal, where she camped and used tree branches to help with her stretches! Worried that scoliosis will have a big impact on your life? Contact Scoliosis SOS today to discuss your condition and arrange a consultation.
June 1, 2017

Treating Scoliosis Sufferers from India

erika Scoliosis SOS Patients
Scoliosis affects over 4% of the global population, meaning that millions of children and adults around the world are affected by this condition. There are a few different ways to treat scoliosis, but here at Scoliosis SOS, we treat scoliosis via a combination of well-established non-surgical spinal techniques – we call this the ScolioGold method, and it has helped countless scoliosis sufferers to overcome their symptoms and live a higher quality of life.
Sadly, many scoliosis sufferers worldwide do not have access to non-surgical treatment options, and so these people often have no choice in their own countries but to undergo spinal fusion surgery. Many patients find the thought of this procedure quite frightening, and choose to go overseas in order to access effective non-surgical scoliosis treatment.
Here at Scoliosis SOS, we’ve had the pleasure of treating patients from all over the world, some of whom have travelled thousands of miles to receive treatment at our London clinic. One memorable overseas patient was a girl named Amita, who travelled all the way from India to get treated here after being turned away by many specialists at home.

Case Study: Amita from India

Amita had been suffering from scoliosis for twelve years before she received treatment at our clinic. She was first diagnosed around the time of her 10th birthday, and shortly after that, Amita was fitted with a back brace and told she had to wear it for at least 23 hours a day, removing it only to bathe or shower. Amita found the brace very uncomfortable, and the rigid plastic eventually caused sores to form on her body. Despite this, she continued to wear the brace until she was fifteen, when she was told by the doctor that she had stopped growing and that, because of this, her spinal curve would now stop progressing.
Sadly, this wasn’t the case. When Amita was in her early twenties, she began feeling some side effects as a result of her scoliosis; these gradually got worse, and by the time she was twenty-one, she was in almost constant pain. This was an issue for Amita, as she was studying for her exams at the time and had to move every few minutes in order to relieve her back pain. The family decided to see a number of specialists to get a range of opinions; however, these specialists offered very little help, effectively telling Amita’s family that nothing could be done for her. The only option the family were given, as a final resort, was spinal fusion surgery – this was very daunting for Amita, as she had just entered the world of work, and major spinal surgery would mean taking at least 4 months off to recover. Amita decided that she would simply have to put up with her pain, no matter how excruciating it became.
Several months passed, and Amita was offered an opportunity to work in the UK. Whilst researching places to stay in London, she came across the Scoliosis SOS Clinic; Amita was excited, and contacted us for further details. She was given a great deal of information, and finally received the ray of hope that she had been awaiting for most of her adult life: scoliosis may cause pain, but it is treatable!
Since attending a four-week treatment course here at the Clinic, Amita is no longer suffering from chronic pain. Furthermore, thanks to our help and advice, she knows what to do to relieve her symptoms and make the pain disappear when she does get the occasional twinge.
Amita is one of the many scoliosis sufferers we have welcomed from foreign countries. If you would like to learn more about the Scoliosis SOS Clinic and the treatment courses we provide, please click here to get in touch.
February 24, 2017

Running with Scoliosis: Can a Curved Spine Slow You Down?

erika Scoliosis SOS Patients
Running
 
People with scoliosis sometimes find it more difficult to move around than people with healthy spines. This can be a big problem for sports enthusiasts with curved spines: mobility and flexibility are two very important attributes when you’re engaging in physical activities, and some scoliosis sufferers struggle to perform to the best of their abilities when it comes to athletic pursuits.
 
Running is one sport where the presence of a spinal curvature can cause real problems for the athlete. Today, we’re going to look at what exactly scoliosis can mean for runners before exploring some possible treatment options.

How does scoliosis affect a runner’s performance?

Scoliosis can affect a person’s ability to run in a number of different ways:
  • A curved spine often leads to pain and discomfort, which can eat away at a runner’s stamina and endurance – especially when it lasts for long periods. (Some scoliosis sufferers find swimming to be a more comfortable, less painful form of exercise.)
  • In some cases, an abnormally large spinal curve can cause reduced lung capacity, resulting in compromised breathing. Breathing is a crucial part of running (particularly distance running, e.g. marathons), and scoliosis can sometimes cause problems by making it difficult for the runner to catch their breath.
  • When scoliosis causes reduced flexibility, it may impair a runner’s performance by limiting their range of movement.

Does running make scoliosis worse?

In addition to the above considerations, runners with scoliosis also have to be wary of making their spinal curve even worse. Scoliosis often progresses over time anyway, but certain physical activities – including running – may speed up this process, in some cases increasing the patient’s Cobb angle quite rapidly.
 
This happens because of the way a runner’s back rotates and flexes with every step. Running on paved or hard surfaces can further increase the load on a scoliotic spine, which serves to intensify the daily effects of gravity on the less-than-adequately-supported vertebrae and ultimately causes the condition to progress.

Treatment options for runners with scoliosis

Some of the recommended treatments for scoliosis can be just as limiting as the spinal curvature itself. Wearing a back brace can help to halt the progression of the curve, but that rigid plastic shell dramatically inhibits the wearer’s movements. Spinal fusion surgery may be recommended once the Cobb angle has reached a certain point, but again, this procedure can leave the patient with drastically reduced mobility and flexibility.
 
Don’t worry, though – scoliosis doesn’t have to spell the end for your running career. (Did you know that Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man himself, is a scoliosis sufferer?) The non-surgical treatment courses that we offer here at the Scoliosis SOS Clinic consistently get fantastic results, minimising the symptoms of scoliosis without any intrusive corrective measures or procedures.

Shona’s story

Shona Hargreave, a teenager from Merseyside, visited our clinic in 2014 because she was concerned that her spinal curve would put a premature end to her competitive running career.
 
Shona, a runner with scoliosis
Image source: St Helens Reporter
 
Her scoliosis was manifesting itself in a range of symptoms, including:
  • Back pain
  • Reduced breathing capacity
  • Asymmetrical appearance
Our ScolioGold therapy helped Shona to overcome these symptoms and return to training. Here’s what she had to say about her time at the clinic:
 
“When I was told I had scoliosis, I didn’t really understand – no one ever sat me down and explained what was going on in my back until I got to the Scoliosis SOS Clinic.
“The staff there were amazing. They made me feel normal again, and encouraged me to carry on living a normal life. The exercises weren’t too hard; you just had to think about what you were doing.
 
“Everything has changed this year. I feel alive, health, happy, and I cannot wait to get back to running.”
 
You can read more about Shona at www.sthelensreporter.co.uk. If you would like to book a consultation with Scoliosis SOS, please get in touch today.
February 8, 2017

Treating Scoliosis Sufferers from Norway

erika Scoliosis SOS Patients
Scoliosis Treatment Norway
Undergoing scoliosis surgery can be a rather scary prospect, and so it’s perhaps no wonder that people are often willing to travel thousands of miles across land and sea in order to access an effective non-surgical alternative. Norway is one country that is quite short on non-surgical scoliosis treatment options, which explains why several of the pins on our Overseas Patients map are situated along the western edge of Scandinavia.

Case Study: Camilla Bang

Camilla, a young woman now in her early 20s, is one scoliosis sufferer who frequently flies over to our clinic from Norway for a refresher session. We first treated her in 2013 after she decided that she didn’t want to have steel rods inserted into her back!
Camilla was first diagnosed with scoliosis as a teen. She was experiencing a bout of back pain, and her mother – upon examining Camilla’s back – noticed a visible curvature that prompted the family to visit the hospital in Oslo for an X-ray. That scan revealed a 37-degree spinal curve; one year later, another X-ray showed that Camilla’s Cobb angle had progressed to 43 degrees, severe enough to qualify her for surgery.
However, when Camilla realised what the operation would actually entail, she and her father began researching alternatives. Their search led them to the Scoliosis SOS Clinic in London, which turned out to be a less expensive option than the one non-surgical scoliosis treatment clinic located on the other side of Norway. (London’s many shopping opportunities were a big draw too!)
Camilla attended a 4-week ScolioGold course back in 2013 and saw rapid progress thanks to our special exercise-based treatment programme. Eventually, her curve was diminished to a Cobb angle of 38 degrees, and her refresher sessions and ongoing exercises have managed to keep it there for several years now.
Watch the video below to see Camilla speaking about her experiences at the Scoliosis SOS Clinic.
Whether you live in Norway or a completely different part of the world, the Scoliosis SOS Clinic can help you to combat your spinal curvature. Contact us today to arrange a consultation (this can be carried out via Skype or telephone call if needed).
February 1, 2017

Scoliosis and Sports: Our Sporty Success Stories

erika Scoliosis SOS Patients
James, Tennis Player & Scoliosis SOS Patient
Many of the patients we treat here at the Scoliosis SOS Clinic have a keen interest in sports. From rugby players and footballers to jockeys and kickboxers, we must have welcomed just about every type of sportsperson there is through the doors of our clinic!
Mind you, this isn’t a coincidence – while scoliosis can have a colossal impact on anyone’s life, being diagnosed with a curvature of the spine can be particularly devastating for dedicated sportspeople. Scoliosis regularly leads to muscular imbalance and impaired flexibility / mobility, and when the patient is involved with sports or other physical activities, these symptoms may have a very negative effect on their performance.
It therefore stands to reason that sportspeople with scoliosis have more reason than most to seek an effective means of managing the condition. Happily, ScolioGold therapy (our own treatment method, specifically tailored to the unique needs of scoliosis sufferers) has proven to be a very effective means of tackling scoliosis and helping scoliotic sports enthusiasts to keep on performing to the very best of their abilities.
Here are just a few of the sport-loving scoliosis patients whom we’ve helped over the years:
Rugby player with scoliosis

Hannah (15, Swansea)

Rugby player
Rugby can be rough even on a completely healthy body, and so 15-year-old Hannah understandably though that her rugby-playing days were over when she was diagnosed with a 37-degree curve in her spine. Fortunately, she happened to be watching TV when our founder Erika Maude was being interviewed on the BBC, and our treatment course left her in less pain, with a better posture and the ability to take part in demanding physical activities once again.
Tennis player with scoliosis

James (15, Birmingham)

Tennis player
Spinal fusion surgery would likely have brought James’s tennis days to an abrupt end. “Sitting on the sidelines and watching my friends having fun was soul-destroying,” he said of his time away from the court. However, his parents came across our clinic online and he was “ecstatic” when they told him that they’d found an alternative to surgery. After the treatment, James said that he had a “new lease of life” and was looking forward to a full summer of tennis.
Kickboxer with scoliosis

Paige (13, Birmingham)

Kickboxer
Paige was an enthusiastic young kickboxer from the West Midlands who came to the Scoliosis SOS Clinic (then located in Suffolk) with a 54-degree spinal curve. She was distraught at the prospect of having steel rods inserted into her back, not least because this would likely leave her unable to participate in her favourite sport any longer. In the end, however, a ScolioGold treatment course and an ongoing exercise regime ensured that she could carry on as before.
Jockey with scoliosis on horse

Rosie (18, London)

Jockey
Rosie, a keen horse rider from Twickenham, was experiencing a lot of pain and discomfort due to her scoliosis – especially while she was on horseback. Worried that this might scupper her ambitions to become a professional jockey, Rosie came to the Scoliosis SOS Clinic, and our non-surgical treatment course got her back on track.
Footballer with scoliosis

Sophie (18, Essex)

Footballer
Sophie was diagnosed with scoliosis after a football match left her with an agonising pain in her back. She came to us because she was determined to avoid undergoing surgery, and six months after the day of her diagnosis (when her mum commented on how hunched-over she looked), she was able to stand up straight and get back on the football pitch again.
If you or a loved one need scoliosis treatment, please contact Scoliosis SOS to book an initial consultation.

News Menu

Posts by Category

10 Most Recent Posts

Posts by Keyword

Posts by Month

  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
    • Scoliosis SOS – London Clinic(head office)
    63 Mansell Street, London, E1 8AN |
    +44 (0)207 488 4428
    Scoliosis SOS – Birmingham Clinic
    4 Sovereign Court, 8 Graham Street, Birmingham, B1 3JR |
    0121 389 2275
    Scoliosis SOS – Bristol Clinic
    417 Gloucester Rd, Bristol BS7 8TZ |
    0117 959 5717
    Scoliosis SOS – Kingston Clinic
    LOC, 1 Elm Crescent, Kingston upon Thames, London, KT2 6HL |
    0207 488 4428
    Scoliosis SOS – Manchester Clinic
    The Grove, 27 Manor Street, Manchester, M12 6HE
    0161 260 1424
    © Copyright Scoliosis SOS. All rights reserved