Did you see the Scoliosis SOS team on TV earlier this week?
A Matter of Life and Debt is a BBC One documentary series that focuses on credit unions, responsible moneylenders, and the people whose lives have been transformed by ethical loans.
The third episode of A Matter of Life and Debt‘s current series aired on Wednesday (21 August 2019), and it featured a segment about our Clinic Principal Erika Maude and the loan that helped her to set up the Scoliosis SOS Clinic back in 2006.
Having been let down by a high-street bank, Erika instead sought assistance from Foundation East, a responsible lender that provides finance and support for businesses. They approved Scoliosis SOS for a loan of £50,000 – a sum that, thanks to the clinic’s instant success, was repaid within just nine months!
If you missed our appearance on A Matter of Life and Debt, don’t worry – you can watch it below!
More Media Coverage About Scoliosis SOS
The Scoliosis SOS Clinic was founded by Erika Maude on 29 May 2006 – which means we’re 13 today!
We’ve achieved a lot in the last 13 years. Here are just a few highlights:
Most importantly, though, we’ve helped thousands of people with scoliosis to take control of their condition, keep doing the things they love, and – in many cases – completely avoid undergoing spinal fusion surgery.
We’d like to say a huge THANK YOU to all the patients (and their families) who have visited the Scoliosis SOS Clinic over the past 13 years. It’s been a huge honour to meet and help so many of you – long may it continue!
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The final 2 days of the 2019 SOSORT (Society On Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment) meeting in San Francisco proved to be just as productive and educational as the start of the conference.
Friday 26 April
Friday began with a variety of scientific paper award sessions, including those on the ‘Impact of Sports Activities on Adolescent Scoliosis Patients’ (from a team at the Italian Scientific Institute) and the ‘Effects of Inspiratory Muscle Training on Respiratory Muscle Strength’ (from a research group at Bezmiâlem University in Istanbul, Turkey). This was followed by a moving presentation from Dr. Scott Haldeman on the work of World Spine Care, a global charity on a mission to improve lives in under-served communities by aiming to create a world in which everyone has access to the highest possible quality of spine care.
Clinic Principal Erika Maude (pictured above) then presented the Scoliosis SOS Clinic’s work: ‘Exploring the Cost Effectiveness of an Intensive Physiotherapeutic Scoliosis Specific Exercise (PSSE) Programme in a UK Adult Population’. Many of our patients will recall being asked to complete quality of life questionnaires at various points during their treatment programmes, and we are very grateful to everyone who has helped to contribute to this ground-breaking piece of research and prove that our ScolioGold therapy is a cost-effective alternative to the existing treatments of bracing and surgery that are currently offered by the UK’s National Health Service. We will be uploading the full video recording of Erika ‘s presentation at the San Francisco conference later next week.
The day concluded with a talk from orthopaedic specialist Mr Peter Newton, current president of the SRS (Scoliosis Research Society), on the organisation’s work as a networking hub for spinal specialists from all over the world.
Saturday 27 April
Saturday saw Rachel Mulvaney, Vice President of Curvy Girls, speak on the ‘Power of Peer Support’ and showcase the amazing work this society does to help girls with scoliosis across the globe.
Our Clinical Manager Georgie Frere (pictured above) also gave an excellent insight into the importance of ‘Strategies to Improve Home Exercise Compliance in Patients with Scoliosis’, something that we are very passionate about supporting our patients with when they return home after completing a treatment course at our clinic. Every patient receives a personalised exercise schedule, and we have also been trialling the use of paper exercise diaries for some of our patients to see if this improves their motivation at home. Georgie’s presentation has also been recorded and will be uploaded to our YouTube channel shortly.
Looking ahead to SOSORT 2020
Next year’s SOSORT conference will be held in Melbourne, Australia, and the Scoliosis SOS team are already hard at work finalising their scientific abstracts for submission before the deadline in October 2019. The 2020 conference looks set to be bigger than ever, and will be teaming up with SpineWeek to offer a scientific collaboration bringing together clinicians and scientists from around the world and from very different scientific societies.
Learn More About Scoliosis SOS > Upcoming Treatment Course Dates >
SOSORT (Society On Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment) is a non-profit organisation that aims to encourage the development of conservative – i.e. non-surgical – treatment methods for scoliosis and other spinal conditions. The cornerstone of SOSORT’s work is their Annual Meeting, which takes place in a different location each year and comprises a variety of scientific and educational events.
The Scoliosis SOS Clinic have had a consistent presence at these Annual Meetings for a number of years now. Clinic Principal Erika Maude, Clinic Manager Georgie Frere and ScolioGold Therapist Kara Cattell are currently in San Francisco, California for SOSORT’s 14th International Conference on Scoliosis Management. This year, more than 300 participants from across 6 different continents have gathered together to discuss the latest developments, research and techniques for non-surgical scoliosis patient care.
On Thursday, attendees listened to lectures from keynote speakers Dr Manuel Rigo – who was Erika’s doctor when she herself underwent treatment in Spain back in 2002 – and Dr Stuart Weinstein, an orthopaedic surgeon and US healthcare policy advisor.
Dr Rigo gave a brilliant insight into the history of exercise-based therapy for scoliosis (dating back to the 18th century, when wall bars were first invented by a Swedish physician) and finished with an overview of modern-day physiotherapy methods from around the world.
Dr Weinstein’s talk focused on health economics and how, with scoliosis surgery being one of the biggest health costs for teenage populations in many countries, healthcare providers are going to be under increasing pressure in the near future to find more cost-effective ways to treat this patient group – namely with less invasive, more conservative methods. This is a particularly popular topic at the moment, and Erika hopes that her upcoming scientific presentation on the health economics of patient quality of life will greatly add to the evidence supporting the wider use of exercise therapy to treat scoliosis patients.
Be sure to check the Scoliosis SOS blog next week for more information on Erika’s presentation, as well as Georgie’s presentation on patient compliance.
Our Scoliosis Research > Our Treatment Method >
