Are you looking for safe and effective non-surgical treatment for your scoliosis or another spinal condition, but you're unable to travel to our world-famous flagship centre in London? Then look no further - due to popular request, Scoliosis SOS have launched two new centres to expand our services in Birmingham and Bristol!

Both new locations offer the same high standards of specialist care for our patients and our scientifically-proven ScolioGold treatment is provided on an outpatient basis, with a choice of 1-hour, 2-hour or 3-hour sessions to fit around work and school commitments.

Our dedicated therapists will formulate a customised treatment plan for you (including education to help you fully understand your condition and how our therapy works, specific exercises, stretches, plus lots of hands-on therapy), to address your symptoms and goals. One-to-one in-clinic sessions will be combined with a home exercise schedule to help each patient achieve and maintain the optimum results for their condition.

ScolioGold treatment combines the best treatment techniques from across the globe (including the Schroth, FITS & SEAS methods to name a few) with the aim of helping patients attain postural correction, improvements in Cobb angle, pain relief, an increase in their quality of life, and a return to the activities they love.

To celebrate the opening of our new Birmingham and Bristol locations, we are offering a 25% discount for 10-session blocks booked during December 2019. Call 0207 488 4428 to book your treatment.

Where are the new clinics?

Birmingham: At One, 10 Great Western Arcade, Birmingham, B2 5HU

• Telephone: 0121 389 2275

Bristol: The Foot & Body Mechanic, 417 Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8TZ

• Telephone: 0117 959 5717

Contact us or call one of the clinics above for more information or to book an appointment.

Earlier this week, Channel 4 aired a documentary called Save My Child. It focused on two young people with lifelong health conditions and their families' efforts to raise the funds for private treatment.

One of the children featured was Mia, a 15-year-old girl with scoliosis. Here's a clip from the programme:

Mia's curved spine, along with the scoliosis brace that she had to wear for 23 hours a day, meant that she was in near-constant pain. At the start of Save My Child, we see Mia lying awake at night and struggling with everyday tasks like tying her shoelaces.

Frustrated with the long waiting lists for spinal fusion surgery - and fearing that Mia's condition would only get worse with time - her family started researching alternatives. Eventually, they decided to travel to Turkey so that Mia could undergo vertebral body tethering (VBT) surgery.

The Channel 4 programme primarily focused on how Mia's family managed to raise tens of thousands of pounds to pay for private surgery. What it didn't do was take a critical look at the VBT procedure itself and how effective it actually is.

Is VBT a good alternative to spinal fusion surgery?

First of all, it's important to note that VBT is a rather controversial topic here in the UK. It was the subject of much discussion at the recent British Scoliosis Society conference in Cardiff - many British families go abroad for VBT, with Germany and Turkey the most popular destinations, but in many cases there are no formal standards in place for this procedure. And if complications occur back home, the NHS must then pick up the cost of fixing an operation that was paid for privately in a different country!

Fortunately, the outcome for Mia was a positive one ("I'm a lot happier now," she told Channel 4), but here at the Scoliosis SOS Clinic, we've met a number of scoliosis patients who weren't so lucky. One family came to see us after their daughter had undergone the VBT procedure in Turkey - they were concerned that she didn't look any different, and in the end they signed her up for a ScolioGold treatment course, an option they had previously passed up in favour of the VBT route.

Potential complications of VBT

If you need another reason to think twice before going abroad for VBT surgery, we have met multiple scoliosis patients who ended up suffering from pleurisy after the procedure. This is a sharp pain in the chest that occurs when you take a deep breath.

Still other patients found that the tethering had been done on the wrong side of the spine, making their scoliosis worse and creating nerve complications.

Finally, it should be noted that the death rate for VBT is 3%. This is significantly higher than spinal fusion surgery.

A safer alternative to spinal fusion

While vertebral body tethering may become a more viable option in the future, there simply isn't enough evidence of its effectiveness just yet (this is the main reason why VBT isn't currently available on the NHS).

The Scoliosis SOS Clinic's physiotherapy-based scoliosis treatment courses offer a non-invasive, low-risk alternative to scoliosis surgery. We have helped patients of all ages to manage their severe spinal curves and live happier, more active lives. On many occasions, our treatment programme has reduced the angle of the patient's curvature to a point where they're no longer a candidate for surgery at all!

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Further Reading:

• What is vertebral body tethering (VBT)?
• FDA approves spinal tethering device for idiopathic scoliosis

At its most basic, 'mindfulness' refers to an individual's conscious presence in the here and now, focusing on the moment and one's current surroundings.

But mindfulness also extends to the way we react to situations, with a strong emphasis on maintaining a calm and calculated approach to what's going on.

"What does that have to do with scoliosis?" we hear you ask. Well, potentially, quite a lot.

Mindfulness and Pain Relief

According to the Dalai Lama, "if a person's basic state of mind is serene and calm, then it is possible for this inner peace to overwhelm a painful physical experience".

In other words, practising mindfulness can help us to cope with physical pain and discomfort as well as being a useful stress management technique.

A Brief History of Mindfulness and Scoliosis

This holistic approach to long-term medical conditions is nothing new. In fact, way back in the 4th century BC, Hippocrates was believed to have stressed the healing power of nature and said to have encouraged self-healing methods.

Additionally, it's well-documented that methods not unlike mindfulness have been in use for centuries, notably playing a big role in the ancient medical traditions of both India and China. Meanwhile, Buddhist monks have long been associated with this meditative approach to health and wellbeing.

Mindfulness Studies and Results

According to an article published on RelaxTheBack.com, a study conducted by the University of Montreal compared the pain tolerance of Zen monks well-versed in meditation to that of non-meditators.

The results showed that the monks' pain sensitivity rate was 18% lower, while MRI results concluded that they also had a thicker orbitofrontal cortex, suggesting that this area of the brain was responsible for meditation-based pain relief.

A further study by the University of California, San Diego found that, after completing a 20-minute mindfulness meditation session each day for just 4 days, test subjects reduced their pain response by 44%. The same test was done on another group, replacing meditation with a dose of morphine. The morphine resulted in a pain reduction of just 20%.

Additional evidence was published in the April 2011 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, which reported that 80 minutes of mindfulness meditation could cut pain perception almost in half.

Mindfulness and Scoliosis

So let's apply this theory to scoliosis. If the above figures are correct, theoretically, modern-day mindfulness techniques could help to decrease scoliosis pain.

What's more, the mental benefits may also help scoliosis sufferers to cope with the condition psychologically, fending off the anxiety and depression that can accompany long-term ailments like scoliosis.

Practice Mindfulness with Scoliosis

Stereotypical meditation positioning requires you to be sat up straight, cross-legged on the floor. This may not be very comfortable for someone with scoliosis!

Luckily, mindfulness meditation can be modified to fit your body's needs. Whether you need to use a chair, sit against a wall or lie down on your back, you're free to find the position that's most comfortable for you.

Daily meditation in a relaxed environment could be a great way to help combat the negative effects of scoliosis. At the very least, it's definitely worth a shot.

Learn about our scoliosis treatment methods >

Noonan syndrome is a congenital disorder that can impact the formation and development of several areas of the body.

Characterised by a variety of distinctive features – including facial abnormalities, stunted height and heart defects – Noonan syndrome is caused by a mutation of one or more genes.

According to the NHS, it's estimated that the number of children born with Noonan syndrome is somewhere between 1 in 1000 and 1 in 2500. The condition affects all ethnicities and sexes equally.

Notably, children with Noonan syndrome are also more susceptible to spinal conditions such as scoliosis.

Scoliosis as a result of Noonan syndrome

In 2001, a Korean study carried out by the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in Seoul National University Hospital scientifically proved the correlation between scoliosis and Noonan syndrome.

Of the 60 patients with Noonan syndrome included in this study, 30% were found to have spinal deformities. Of those patients, two patients had congenital deformities, while the remaining 16 were diagnosed with scoliosis.

Based on the evidence provided, the study concluded that scoliosis with an associated thoracic lordosis occurs more frequently in Noonan syndrome than had been previously reported.

Today the relationship is well-documented, and early assessment of children with Noonan syndrome is recommended to ensure prompt detection and advanced treatment of scoliosis symptoms.

Treating scoliosis in Noonan syndrome patients

We at the Scoliosis SOS Clinic treat scoliosis in people of all ages and backgrounds. Our non-surgical treatment courses are ideal for all manner of individuals, including those with Noonan syndrome.

Combining the tried and tested Schroth method with an assortment of additional complementary techniques, our ScolioGold programme is designed to promote natural correction of asymmetric posture without invasive surgery. Our treatment method has an unrivalled level of success, providing significant relief to most patients within just a few weeks.

Better still, our methods are continuously evolving in line with medical breakthroughs and non-surgical development, allowing us to modify and improve our programme as the scientific study of scoliosis advances.

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Lots of Scoliosis SOS patients ask us the same question:

What will I need to do after my treatment to continue seeing results?

The typical length of a ScolioGold treatment course is 4 weeks, and while our patients routinely see significant improvements within this short time, it is the long-term results that they (and we) are most concerned with!

During those 4 weeks of treatment, we teach every patient a set of exercises and stretches that will help them to continue their treatment independently when they get home. Each patient leaves our clinic with a daily exercise plan that's tailored to their condition and long-term goals.

To give you a better idea of what those daily exercise routines contain, we spoke to Eleanor - who started ScolioGold treatment back in 2016 - and asked her a few questions about her daily exercise routine and how her scoliosis has been since she left the clinic.

Hi Eleanor! How did your initial ScolioGold treatment course help you?

I started treatment 3 years ago, when I was 12 years old. My consultant had told me that I needed to have surgery on my back because my curve was progressing, but my mum researched other options on the Internet and found the Scoliosis SOS Clinic. I did a 4-week course during my summer school holidays, and within a couple of days of starting treatment, my parents noticed that I was standing taller and straighter. By the time I finished treatment a month later, I had grown 3cm!

The main thing it has helped with is my self-confidence; I no longer feel ashamed of my back or have to hide under baggy jumpers. The best part was when we saw the consultant for a check-up appointment he said that I was no longer a candidate for surgery.

How often have you come back to the clinic since then?

I usually come back to see my therapist Charlie every 3 months, but once I have finished growing this will change to every 6 months. I grew a lot last year, so at Christmas, I did a refresher week where I learnt a few more advanced exercises and joined a couple of the group therapy sessions too.

What exercises do you do at home?

At my appointments, Charlie gives me a new exercise schedule that tells me what I have to do on each day. It's nice to have a change, and it keeps me motivated when I go back home. Each day includes 3 specific exercises and a couple of stretches. My favourite is side-lying with a pole as I can really feel my muscles working when I do it and it always makes me feel straighter afterwards.

Some of the other things I do are: muscular cylinder, prone on stool, semi-hanging, PNF Pacquet and ASC.

How often do you do scoliosis exercises at home?

As I am still growing, I have to do 45 minutes of exercise each day.

Are the continued exercises helping you to manage your condition?

I have been discharged from the hospital, but the measurements and scans Charlie does at my check-ups show that my condition is stable and it improved a bit more after I did the refresher week.

If you're suffering from scoliosis, we can provide an entirely exercise-based treatment course that will help you to manage your condition independently. To enquire about our treatment courses, give us a call on 0207 488 4428 or use the links below.

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