A Twisted Affair
I have been meaning to blog about the meeting we had in February for the UK Scoliotics since returning but life has been so hectic I have just not had the time! So please don't shoot the messenger here for being late on her blogging ;)
We met at La Tasca in Victoria, London at lunch time on the 19th February, we had a great turnout with people coming from all over the UK and of course Spain! I have listed the people who attended below.
Maria from Uttoexeter, Staffordshire
Megan from Cambridgeshire
Judith from Mill Hill, London
Linda from Croxley Green, Watford
Krysie from Coventry
Karen from Hurst Green
Simone & Chris Icough from Spain
Evi from London
Lisa from Kent
Janice from Sunderland
Gail from Hull
Janet from London
Alana from Spain
The venue itself were very helpful, they threw in some free jugs of Sangria, (which seemed to go to Maria's head - hahahaha, although I think she enjoyed it ;) and 5 pounds off the menu price per head, we had a great table downstairs in the corner with the comfy seats, which I grabbed when I arrived knowing that twisties struggle to sit for long periods and we need to be comfortable!
Majority of the people arrived at lunch time (12pm) and by 2pm everyone was there and lunch commenced, we had gambas pil-pil (prawns with garlic and oil), meatballs, tortilla (Spanish Omelette), chicken wings in a spicy sauce and paella which is very typical Spanish, there was so much food we could not possibly eat it all so after we had all wrapped up and had our photos we went and fed the homeless with what food we had left, seemed a shame to waste it and that also meant another good deed for the day was done :)
Everyone got along, shared stories, pain relief and of course we all had a bit of a moan about how we struggle with our daily pains, whether that be hips, backs, shoulders, arms and legs - Scoliosis affects the WHOLE body not just the spine and to be honest I don't think many people are aware of that, especially people who do not have Scoliosis.
We had a nice crowd, some old timers such as myself who had their surgery 20 odd years ago, some members who had their surgery only a few months ago and some who have not had surgical correction at all, also among us was a Pilates instructor who had her surgical correction some time past and now teaches Pilates from her home, she was very helpful and gave good advice on exercise. We also had a couple of Mums arrive with their daughters and that was lovely to see their families giving support and joining in the conversations.
It was a shame that none of our resident males on the "How To Look Good Twisted" group could not make it, we will, however, let them off, one of the guys, Christopher, had a surgery date the week before for his Kyphosis so we can hardly blame him for not wanting to trek to London ;), we wish him a good recovery. Steven and Simon who are moderators were unable to join us due to pain, which was a real shame but this is part and parcel of the condition Scoliosis, one day we are fighting fit and the next day we are hunched over, in lots of pain and struggling to move, we hope they are also having a good week and perhaps we will see them the next time.
I was also very grateful to my friend Alana (and I cannot leave her out of this!) who came all the way from Spain and offered her support to me, to be fair I didn't know what to say when she said she would come and support me for my first Scoliosis meeting, with her not having Scoliosis and not knowing much about it I felt that was very brave of her to come and meet all these people with back problems and just get on with it, so thanks Alana for your support, your friendship means a lot to me.
Thanks again to everyone who made the effort to travel to London to meet us for the first community event, you certainly made my day and I am so pleased we organised this, it was so nice to be surrounded by my own people! We will have more in the future so watch this space - our next event is LAS VEGAS, so come join us in the most exciting city on the planet!
What is Scoliosis?
Scoliosis is a common orthopaedic condition affecting spinal alignment, growth, and function. A wide variety of conditions, many of which affect the neuromuscular system (eg, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy), are associated with the development of scoliosis. However, the most common form of scoliosis, which has an undefined etiology and affects otherwise normal adolescents.
Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) develops in approximately 1% to 3% of the population, primarily in minor forms that do not become progressive or problematic in later life. However, a small percentage of curves do progress to a range that warrants treatment with either an orthosis or surgical arthrodesis. Bracing to prevent and /or limit scoliosis progression is an option only in the growing patient with a moderate curve (25º to 45º). Surgical treatment is considered for patients with curves greater than 40º to 50º.
We met at La Tasca in Victoria, London at lunch time on the 19th February, we had a great turnout with people coming from all over the UK and of course Spain! I have listed the people who attended below.
Maria from Uttoexeter, Staffordshire
Megan from Cambridgeshire
Judith from Mill Hill, London
Linda from Croxley Green, Watford
Krysie from Coventry
Karen from Hurst Green
Simone & Chris Icough from Spain
Evi from London
Lisa from Kent
Janice from Sunderland
Gail from Hull
Janet from London
Alana from Spain
The venue itself were very helpful, they threw in some free jugs of Sangria, (which seemed to go to Maria's head - hahahaha, although I think she enjoyed it ;) and 5 pounds off the menu price per head, we had a great table downstairs in the corner with the comfy seats, which I grabbed when I arrived knowing that twisties struggle to sit for long periods and we need to be comfortable!
Majority of the people arrived at lunch time (12pm) and by 2pm everyone was there and lunch commenced, we had gambas pil-pil (prawns with garlic and oil), meatballs, tortilla (Spanish Omelette), chicken wings in a spicy sauce and paella which is very typical Spanish, there was so much food we could not possibly eat it all so after we had all wrapped up and had our photos we went and fed the homeless with what food we had left, seemed a shame to waste it and that also meant another good deed for the day was done :)
Everyone got along, shared stories, pain relief and of course we all had a bit of a moan about how we struggle with our daily pains, whether that be hips, backs, shoulders, arms and legs - Scoliosis affects the WHOLE body not just the spine and to be honest I don't think many people are aware of that, especially people who do not have Scoliosis.
We had a nice crowd, some old timers such as myself who had their surgery 20 odd years ago, some members who had their surgery only a few months ago and some who have not had surgical correction at all, also among us was a Pilates instructor who had her surgical correction some time past and now teaches Pilates from her home, she was very helpful and gave good advice on exercise. We also had a couple of Mums arrive with their daughters and that was lovely to see their families giving support and joining in the conversations.It was a shame that none of our resident males on the "How To Look Good Twisted" group could not make it, we will, however, let them off, one of the guys, Christopher, had a surgery date the week before for his Kyphosis so we can hardly blame him for not wanting to trek to London ;), we wish him a good recovery. Steven and Simon who are moderators were unable to join us due to pain, which was a real shame but this is part and parcel of the condition Scoliosis, one day we are fighting fit and the next day we are hunched over, in lots of pain and struggling to move, we hope they are also having a good week and perhaps we will see them the next time.
I was also very grateful to my friend Alana (and I cannot leave her out of this!) who came all the way from Spain and offered her support to me, to be fair I didn't know what to say when she said she would come and support me for my first Scoliosis meeting, with her not having Scoliosis and not knowing much about it I felt that was very brave of her to come and meet all these people with back problems and just get on with it, so thanks Alana for your support, your friendship means a lot to me.
Thanks again to everyone who made the effort to travel to London to meet us for the first community event, you certainly made my day and I am so pleased we organised this, it was so nice to be surrounded by my own people! We will have more in the future so watch this space - our next event is LAS VEGAS, so come join us in the most exciting city on the planet!
What is Scoliosis?
Scoliosis is a common orthopaedic condition affecting spinal alignment, growth, and function. A wide variety of conditions, many of which affect the neuromuscular system (eg, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy), are associated with the development of scoliosis. However, the most common form of scoliosis, which has an undefined etiology and affects otherwise normal adolescents.
Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) develops in approximately 1% to 3% of the population, primarily in minor forms that do not become progressive or problematic in later life. However, a small percentage of curves do progress to a range that warrants treatment with either an orthosis or surgical arthrodesis. Bracing to prevent and /or limit scoliosis progression is an option only in the growing patient with a moderate curve (25º to 45º). Surgical treatment is considered for patients with curves greater than 40º to 50º.
