Scoliosis: Life, Support & Friends

In November, I mentioned that my elder daughter Ruth, aged 23, had just started on the scoliosis journey. She's now had an MRI scan and the results are back, she read them to me over the phone (she's not long moved in with her boyfriend, another story for another blog maybe) and she has an S-shaped thoracolumbar curve, if she told me the degree of curve I didn't take it in. I'm guessing that the reason it only showed up recently is that maybe an S-shaped curve can sort-of balance itself out appearance-wise, and what's happened now is that one of the curves has grown more than the other so that's no longer the case - does this make sense? The physio who assessed her doesn't think she should have surgery and that she should have some sort of physio treatment. Mind you, she has a new GP now and he/she may take a different view. This has upset me for all sorts of reasons, one of them is that I feel guilty and that it is all my fault for passing on the scoliosis.

Mary has 3 siblings, 2 brothers and 1 sister and they live in America, Mary was diagnosed with Scoliosis when she was just 10 years old, I was 11 years old when I was diagnosed so I know exactly how Mary was feeling when she learnt that she required spinal surgery and all the hopes and dreams that seem to come tumbling around your life, my surgery was carried out in the UK. Mary had a 75º curve compared to me with a 76º curve, we were very similar in age and curvatures, we were both diagnosed with idiopathic adolescent scoliosis. Mary was very scared when she was told that she had Scoliosis, she would break down in tears at the very thought of scoliosis surgery, woindering if she would even be able to go through with the surgery, I am sure we are familiar with the words "why me?" Gregory White MD - Phoenix Children's Hospital "Scoliosis is a curvtaure and a rotational deformity of the spine, if the curve had gone un-treated then it eventually would have progressed t

The Center for Spine Health at Cleveland Clinic, one of the United States' top hospitals and home to our nationally ranked Neurological Institute, is hosting a FREE online health chat on adult scoliosis from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5. Cleveland Clinic: USA Hospital Register for the Online Health Chat at Cleveland Clinic During this one hour chat Douglas Orr, MD, will answer questions from patients regarding management and treatment options for adult scoliosis and other spinal deformities. Who Is Dr Orr? Dr. Orr specializes in spinal surgery at Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Spine Health and has a joint appointment in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Orr has surgical expertise in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spinal areas, specializing in adult spinal surgery, including minimally invasive surgery, deformity surgery and spinal tumor surgery. H

Medical News Today Reported: Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian is one of only a few hospitals in the country to offer spinal stapling, a new treatment alternative for young people with scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine that is painful and can restrict breathing. The Center for Early Onset Scoliosis, led by Dr Michael Vitale, sees about 400 patients per year under the age of 5 with the condition. Spinal stapling is one of a number of new techniques that promise improved outcomes. Tens of thousands of children in the U.S. are diagnosed with scoliosis each year. When the curvature is moderate, spinal braces can be used to slow or decrease the chance of progression. Until now, however, there was no way to reverse progression and straighten the spine. Spinal stapling is a two-hour minimally invasive surgery that involves implanting inch-long metallic staples across the growth plates of the spine. Made of a high-tech temperature-sensitive metal alloy