Scoliosis: Life, Support & Friends

Spine Health released a new study to examine the Curvature of the Spine , Neuromuscular Disorders and Lung Function By: Chris Maynard Online Content Manager, Spine-health Nov 24, 2009 (Spine-Health) -- Patients with neuromuscular disorders had diminished respiratory muscle strength and pulmonary function compared with a healthy control group, according to a new study also examining how scoliosis affects lung function. As detailed in a recent edition of The Spine Journal , neuromuscular disorders are known to lead to lung volume loss and respiratory muscle weakness, but the effects of scoliosis on lung function are unknown, a point that served as a basis of this study. For some context, neuromuscular disorders occur when the neurons, or nerve cells that send messages that control voluntary muscles like the arms and legs, become unhealthy and die. As a result of this breakdown in communication between the nervous system and muscles, the muscles weaken, possibly leading to a w...

So I had my half-yearly back check up at the hospital on Tuesday the 24th. Here's a quick report: X-RAYS Bone development: My hand was x-rayed. It revealed that I only had a small amount of growth left. Yay!:D SPINAL: My current curves are both 18 - 19 degrees, same as last time. They aren't progressing. ORTHOPEDIC: My doctor looked at the wounds on my back and saw the x-rays. He concluded that I only needed to wear my brace 18 hours a day from now on! He told me that 6 hours wouldn't make much of a difference, seeing as I only have a small amount of growth left and the brace wouldn't be able to fix a huge amount. ORTHOTIC: My orthotist looked at the scars and told me to wear my brace looser. He put padding in the lower side as well. He advised me to wear my brace to school, as it involves sitting down, which is the worst of the three postures. He said the best time not to wear it is when I'm asleep. Best news: the orthotist said next time I come in March, I probab...

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Device-maker Medtronic Inc. has partnered with an imaging software firm to introduce a service that provides three-dimensional images of veins, which the company says will help surgeons treat aortic aneurysms. Author: Brandon Glenn Medtronic says the service will help surgeons better visualize the inside of a patient’s vein before an operation and better view an implanted stent graft after the operation. The service, called 3D Recon, converts two-dimensional computed tomography images to three-dimensional images and removes bone and anatomy from the images, according to a statement from Medtronic. An aortic aneurysm is a weakened and bulging area in the body’s largest blood vessel, a condition that can cause life-threatening bleeding. The service has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, thanks to a 510(k) granted to Vital Images, a Minnetonka, Minnesota-based visualization software firm that partnered with Medtronic. A Medtronic spokesman...

Three to five of every 1,000 children develop spinal curves serious enough to warrant medical attention. And yet, in general terms, the cause of these curves – known as “scoliosis” – remains unknown, and the effectiveness of the most common treatment is in question. Researchers at Shriners Hospitals for Children are working hard to discover answers to these questions, and to improve the quality of care and quality of life for children with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine greater than 10 degrees, which makes the spine look more like an “S” or a “C” than a straight line when viewed on an X-ray. Once scoliosis has been diagnosed, the primary concern is whether the curve will progress, and treatment is aimed at stopping that progression. While scoliosis can occur at any age, the most common type, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), affects 2 to 4 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 16, particularly girls. Treatment options include observation for small curves, bracing in ...

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced the launch of the TSRH ® 3Dx ™ Spinal System. Designed with procedural efficiency in mind, the TSRH 3Dx Spinal System offers two screws designed to address multiple pathologies. The Multi Planar Adjusting (MPA ® ) Screw option provides surgeons a variable angle posted screw for targeted, controlled correction maneuvers. The OSTEOGRIP ® Screw enhances bone fixation by incorporating a dual-lead thread pattern that reduces toggle at the bone-screw interface. Building on more than 20 years of clinical success, this next generation pedicle screw system includes competitive differentiating technology for addressing multiple spinal pathologies, from degenerative disc disease to spinal deformity. The system also offers CHROMALOY™ rods and a minimally invasive capability. “The TSRH 3Dx Spinal System allows me to better match solutions to specific patient needs,” said Dr. Brett Scott. “It gives me confidence by marrying new technologies with a long cl...

Author: Matt Cooper I spotted this article on a golf website and as I knew about Stacy Lewis having Scoliosis I decide to re-print some of the article here to share with our members. Well, it took longer than expected but we all knew it had to happen sooner or later. The weight of expectancy was huge but one sensed it was coming. Welcomed by sponsors, officials and even fellow players. Much anticipated and greeted with scenes of drama and relief. Yes - finally an American has won again on the LPGA. One player excited about the tour's first visit to Houston in 20 years is Stacy Lewis, a Houston resident who has played at the nearby Woodlands all of her career. Lewis' golfing journey has been an extraordinary one - she started playing the game aged eight, quickly gained a reputation as a great talent, was diagnosed with scoliosis (curvature of the spine), wore a brace for six years, then had surgery, became the number ranked amateur in the US and then finished third in the 2008 U...

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I've signed in, this is because I lost my password and my account stopped working. Here's an update on my scoli! Curves Top: 19 degrees Bottom: 16 degrees My half yearly check-up is in exactly a week! For the first time I am going to get an x-ray of my hand to see how much more bone development I have left. It's estimated I'll be done with my brace early 2011. Recently, I had had the WORST brace scars ever. My hips are red and hurt when I sit too long. the low side of my brace is digging into my ribs and now I have a terrible rash there. It's so embarassing. any advice? I'm going to the doctors tomorrow.

Scoliosis Journal reported on tonsillar ectopia in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: does it play a role in the pathogenesis and prognosis or is it only an incidental finding? Authors: Kasim Abul-Kasim, Angelica Overgaard, Magnus K. Karlsson and Acke Ohlin Published: 12 November 2009 Abstract (provisional) Background There is an ongoing controversy about the significance of tonsillar ectopia among patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Aim: To find out if tonsillar ectopia occurs more frequently among patients with AIS and if it plays any etiological or prognostic role in AIS. Study design: Retrospective study. Methods Retrospective analysis of 155 consecutive spine MRIs (79 patients with AIS and 76 controls; aged 7-25 years; 55 % were female) with regard to the position of the cerebellar tonsils in relation to foramen magnum and the sagittal diameter of foramen magnum. All images were evaluated independently by two neuroradiologists. Interobserver reliability analysis w...

Study looks at whether back braces offer benefit for scoliosis Author: Blythe Bernhard Kelli Sargent, a seventh-grader from Belleview, Mo., takes off the back brace she wears to treat her scoliosis as she gets ready for basketball practice. (Emily Rasinksi/P-D) Scoliosis screenings in middle schools find thousands of teenagers with curved spines each year. What happens next isn't as well planned. Treatment for scoliosis hasn't changed in five decades — if the spine is curved to a certain degree, the teenager gets a back brace. But research has not conclusively proved the benefits of the braces. Some young people who don't wear a brace never have any problems and their curves never worsen. Others wear the braces for years and still end up needing back surgery. A long-term study at Washington University and more than 20 other research centers hopes to figure out why. "If we can say that bracing doesn't change (the progression of a spinal curve) then it's a treat...

Author: Melvin Jong Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei is expected to carry out its own scoliosis (side-bending of the spine) surgeries independently, without the aid of any foreign institutions in the next one to two years, said the chairman of AO Spine Asia-Pacific yesterday. Brunei receives about 20 reports of new scoliosis patients each year, most of which occur in teenage girls. Hong Kong-based KV Menon told The Brunei Times that Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (Ripas) Hospital's neurosurgeons are now capable and have already performed some 30 scoliosis surgeries under foreign supervision and expertise. "I think Brunei should be able to perform right now because the Neurosurgery Department in Ripas have actually been performing these surgeries with us for over two years now," he said on the sidelines of the International Workshop on Scoliosis at Ripas from November 9-15. "Maybe we can come once or twice again to generally supervise. The surgical technique is somethi...

Which came first, the muscle spasm or the pain? Every muscle in your body is attached to a bone, but just like the chicken and the egg, a muscle spasm can cause pain and pain can cause a muscle spasm! Often, when we experience pain a muscle spasm pulls nearby joints out of place, causing a condition known as joint sublaxation . Similarly, if a joint is sublaxated, nearby muscles may spasm in response. Does it matter which happened first? Usually, by the time pain has caused you to look for help from the doctor or therapist the cycle of pain and spasm has already begun. Pain causes spasm which pulls joints out of alignment, which more spasm and more pain! Ultimately, the body accommodates to this cycle and the muscles stay tightened in the contracted state. After two days of spasm, the muscles will adapt to their new unnatural painful state and resist relaxation. The pain may even subside a bit during this adaptation, but now the body is adjusting to the muscles and the joints that are ...

Hey, fellow ScoNuts. Sorry for my lack of posts, but minus the surgery, there's nothing very interesting about my day-to-day life. At least, nothing none of you aren't already painfully familiar with. I moved in with my boyfriend, and he's being wonderful to me. He does everything for me, despite my protests; consequently, I have become even more sedentary (I didn't realize that was possible), so my pain has skyrocketed. I know I'm gaining weight, too. I still don't have insurance, but I have the option to buy a policy from the company that used to insure me. Of course, who's going to insure me with a spine like mine? At best, it'll be labeled a preexisting condition and excluded completely. So I have to apply and be approved for disability before I can go back to St. Louis, and God only knows how many years that will take. Dr. Bones wanted me to wait ten more years, and now it looks like I might have to. :( I've got some tips about good disabi...

Scoliosos Journal discusses the pathogenesis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in girls - a double neuro-osseous theory involving disharmony between two nervous systems, somatic and autonomic expressed in the spine and trunk: possible dependency on sympathetic nervous system and hormones with implications for medical therapy. Authors: R Geoffrey Burwell, Ranjit K Aujla, Michael P Grevitt, Peter H Dangerfield, Alan Moulton, Tabitha L Randell and Susan I Anderson Published: 31 October 2009 Anthropometric data from three groups of adolescent girls - preoperative adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), screened for scoliosis and normals were analysed by comparing skeletal data between higher and lower body mass index subsets. Unexpected findings for each of skeletal maturation, asymmetries and overgrowth are not explained by prevailing theories of AIS pathogenesis. A speculative pathogenetic theory for girls is formulated after surveying evidence including: (1) the thoracospinal concept ...