Scoliosis: Life, Support & Friends

Hey guys. I was looking up some exercises that are ideal for Scoliosis and came across some very useful ones.  Stretch Up and Reach Down The stretch up and reach down exercise is recommended for those with scoliosis by SportsInjuryClinic.net. Stand with your back against a wall, both arms dangling freely at your side. Standing with your back against the wall to perform this exercise helps you avoid bending forward or backward. If the left side of your back is your tight side, lift up your left arm so that it's pointing straight toward the ceiling. Reach up toward the ceiling with your left hand. At the same time, reach toward the floor with your right hand. You should feel a subtle shift in your spinal alignment with this stretch. Hold your stretch for five seconds, then relax. Repeat your stretch up and reach down exercise a total of 10 times, and perform your stretch two to three times per day. If you're not sure which side of your back is tighter or which arm you should ...

Many teenagers will probably recognize Shailene Woodley. She plays Hazel Grace in "The Fault in our Stars" and Tris Prior in "Divergent". But did you know that she also suffers from Scoliosis? Shailene Woodley was diagnosed with Scoliosis when she was 15 years old. She had to also wear a back brace,18 hours a day for two years. When doing an interview for Marie Claire, Woodley said "Some people have crooked teeth, some people have broken fingers; and I've got a back that has my initial on it". Such an inspiration to us twisties, eh?  There are many more celebrities that have scoliosis; whether they've had bracing, or whether they've had the surgery. But I will be posting more celebrities, possibly once a week! I find that many of their stories are such an inspiration, and it shows that you can still go out there and do what you want even with Scoliosis!  If you want to read more about Shailene Woodley's Scoliosis then here's a lin...

I thought for my first blog I'd introduce myself and tell you a bit about my Scoliosis journey. So, my name's Kat and I'm currently 16 years old. I was diagnosed with Scoliosis in 2009 after a holiday to Florida where my Dad noticed my ribs were sticking out. My first appointment with my surgeon was 2 months later, where I was told I'd have to have surgery as my curve was already at 44 degrees and was too late for bracing. When I had surgery in January 2010, my curve had increased to 53 degrees. My surgery took 6 hours and I came out with an almost fully straight spine (3 degrees). My recovery was quite a speedy one, so when I finally went back to school I only missed an hour of it as I went home early. From having the surgery, I can tell you that having the surgery is really worth it! The pain decreases a lot after surgery. You may get a few bad days, but nowhere near as many bad days as you had before surgery. There are so many reasons why having the surgery is wo...

ScoliosisJournal posted a new article which talks about the correlation study between in-brace correction, compliance to spinal orthosis and health-related quality of life of patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Authors:  Siu Ling Chan , Kenneth MC Cheung , Keith DK Luk , Kenneth WH Wong and Man Sang Wong Background It has been proposed that in-brace correction is the best guideline for prediction of the results of brace treatment for patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS). However, bracing may be a stressful experience for patients and bracing non-compliance could be psychologically related. The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between brace compliance, in-brace correction and QoL of patients with AIS. Methods Fifty-five patients with a diagnosis of AIS were recruited. All were female and aged 10?years or above when a brace was prescribed, none had undergone prior treatment, and all had a Risser sign of 0?2 and a...

iScoliosis recently published an article in relation to: Pulmonary function after less invasive anterior instrumentation and fusion for idiopathic thoracic scoliosis Published: 21 August 2013 Purpose: Standard thoracotomy for anterior instrumentation and fusion of the thoracic spine in idiopathic scoliosis may have detrimental effects on pulmonary function. In this study we describe a less invasive anterior surgical technique and show the pre- and postoperative pulmonary function with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Methods Twenty patients with Lenke type 1 adolescent thoracic idiopathic scoliosis were treated with anterior spinal fusion and instrumentation. The mean preoperative Cobb angle of the thoracic curve was 53[degree sign] +/- 5.8. Pulmonary function tests (PFT) and radiographic evaluation was performed. Results The mean postoperative correction in Cobb angle of the thoracic curve was 27[degree sign] +/- 8.2 (49%). The mean preoperative FEV1...

Jess contact How To Look Good twisted to talk to us about her Scoliosis Charity Ball which is taking place on the same day as our own event in York.   Jess is 15 years old and is raising money for Scoliosis, her event will be held at Jocasta's Lincoln.    Jess says "Scolio is a charity that I set up which sends gifts and grants wishes to children around the UK with serious conditions and illnesses. I set up Scolio after an operation to correct my Scoliosis where unfortunately I suffered rare complications (I have now made an almost full recovery)"   Tickets for the ball are £40 which includes a welcome drink, 3 course meal, coffee, raffle, disco, auction, photographer and live entertainment by Off Limits!    This will be a brilliant night which shouldn't be missed, says Jess.   "I really hope you are able to join us as it would be great to see as many people as possible there."   For tickets to the Scolio Ball, please contact Jess vi...

As we seem to be blogging about people raising money of late, Laura pone of our very own moderators on the How To Look Good Twisted fan page, sent me some details of other people who are raising money for the SCF. Teamscoliosis will be running 13.1 miles which starts and finishes at the O2 Arena, London, 28th October, 2012. The people who are running this 13 miles were inspired to do this by one of our very own Moderators, Laura Campbell. They said "Our friend Laura has suffered with scoliosis since she was 13. At 18 her curve had progressed to 72 degrees and she underwent 10 hours of major life threatening surgery at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, when surgeons drilled titanium rods and screws into her spine to straighten it. After three days in intensive care and a week in hospital, Laura made a great recovery. However, she has since broken her back twice and two years ago her spine showed further signs of curving. She has recently had to have three m...

So, here we are again, back at the gym after a 2 week break (a much needed one!). I must admit I was a little "ugh I don't want to start beating up my body again" but as per usual I surprise myself at what this twisty body of mine can actually achieve! We talked about how I was doing Power Plate twice weekly now, however, I have noticed that I am a little knackered after doing these exercises every Tuesday and Thursday so this week I decided to go back to once a week and see how that makes me feel. I will use the time I would have spent at the gym on Thursdays to concentrate on my yoga, plus I will be utilising my exercise ball to keep up with my sit ups. I am also swimming daily which is helping a great deal - now all I have to do is stop eating so many carbs! ;=)     I always start my routine with squats and I am doing this so much better now, the strength in my legs is so much greater which of course has positive benefits to my lower spine. Below I have added so...

ScoliosisJournal reported an article about the physical therapy intervention studies on idiopathic scoliosis - review with the focus on inclusion criteria Background Studies investigating the outcome of conservative scoliosis treatment differ widely with respect to the inclusion criteria used. This study has been performed to investigate the possibility to find useful inclusion criteria for future prospective studies on physiotherapy (PT). Materials and methods A PubMed search for outcome papers on PT was performed in order to detect study designs and inclusion criteria used. Results Real outcome papers (start of treatment in immature samples/end results after the end of growth; controlled studies in adults with scoliosis with a follow-up of more than 5 years) have not been found. Some papers investigated mid-term effects of exercises, most were retrospective, few prospective and many included patient samples with questionable treatment indications. Conclusi...

ScoliosisJournal posted an article regarding; 2011 SOSORT guidelines: Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment of Idiopathic Scoliosis during growth. Authors: Stefano Negrini, Angelo G Aulisa, Lorenzo Aulisa, Alin B Circo, Jean C de Mauroy, Jacek Durmala, Theodoros B Grivas, Patrick Knott, Tomasz Kotwicki, Toru Maruyama, Silvia Minozzi, Joseph P O'Brien, Dimitris Papadopoulos, Manuel Rigo, Charles H Rivard, Michele Romano, James H Wynne, Monica Villagrasa, Hans-Rudolf Weiss and Fabio Zaina The International Scientific Society on Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT), that produced its first Guidelines in 2005, felt the need to revise them and increase their scientific quality. The aim is to offer to all professionals and their patients an evidence-based updated review of the actual evidence on conservative treatment of idiopathic scoliosis (CTIS). Methods All types of professionals (specialty physicians, and allied health professionals) ...

ScoliosisJournal posted an article regarding the pulmonary function in children with AIS. Details are listed below. Authors: Thefanis Tsiligiannis and Theodoros B Grivas Idiopathic scoliosis, a common disorder of lateral displacement and rotation of vertebral bodies during periods of rapid somatic growth, has many effects on respiratory function. Scoliosis results in a restrictive lung disease with a multifactorial decrease in lung volumes, displaces the intrathoracic organs, impedes on the movement of ribs and affects the mechanics of the respiratory muscles. Scoliosis decreases the chest wall as well as the lung compliance and results in increased work of breathing at rest, during exercise and sleep. Pulmonary hypertension and respiratory failure may develop in severe disease. In this review the epidemiological and anatomical aspects of idiopathic scoliosis are noted, the pathophysiology and effects of idiopathic scoliosis on respiratory function are ...

Scoliosis Nutty were invited to review The Bond Hotel in Blackpool as part of the new service we are providing to people with a disability, worldwide. This is our first review and we hope we can do many more in the near future. In conjunction with the Disability Directory we will be adding disability hotels for our members to view. Our lovely Laura Campbell is our resident journalist so she was the most appropriate member of our team to send for a free holiday and report back on her stay with The Bond Hotel. Her review is below, we look forward to your comments. Walking into the reception of The Bond Hotel on that rainy Friday, I have to admit that I didn't know quite what to expect, but I knew I was interested in spending time in a hotel that provides accessible holidays especially for people who have disabilities and special needs. I've had my fair share of spinal surgeries and have suffered through all sorts of associated pain and problems, but thankfully I've only e...

I promised I would keep you upto date with my progress on the Powerplate and I have now completed my 10 sessions :) During the last few weeks we started doing the PowerPlate twice weeekly vs once - I started off with once a week because I wasn't sure how my back would feel and going on previous experience in a gym I didn't want to rock the boat too much with something new, however, I have enjoyed the powerplate so much; I was always excited about going! Our trainer Daisy Mae Scott said that if I do it twice weekly I will notice the benefits more; so after 4 weeks of my training I went on to twice weekly. The training got a little harder and I did find that the first week of doing the powerplate twice a week was a little hard for me as the intensity had also increased and some of the poses felt like my rod was shaking itself to bits! I did 6 sessions in 3 weeks and now I am taking a week's break before I continue again next week. I must admit I feel stronger and more a...

A few years ago I started talking with a lovely guy who lives in Kenya. He discovered he had Scoliosis and contacted me via the website, I tried my best to advise him on how to manage his Scoliosis and the pains he was experiencing. In March this year he contacted me again and I was delighted with the news he had for me "I am glad to inform you that I have started my own charity organization" I was so pleased for the Scoliosis community around the World, it makes me warm and fuzzy on the inside to know there really are some amazing people out there doing exceptional work for others in pain, while suffering themselves! I would like to personally congratulate Sammy in his quest for helping the youths of Kenya in learning a new trade. You are an inspiration my friend, good luck with your project. Simone Icough I am 26 years old from Western Kenya in Africa. I suffered scoliosis 5 years ago while I  was 20 years old, the condition affected me adversely. I tried differen...

ScoliosisJournal.com recently reviewed the following scenario: Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, environment, exposome and epigenetics: a molecular perspective of postnatal normal spine growth and the etiopathogenesis of AIS with consideration of a network approach and possible implicatins for medical therapy. Authors: R Geoffrey Burwell, Peter H Dangerfield, Alan Moulton and Theodoros B Grivas Author Affiliations: Centre for Spinal Studies and Surgery, Nottingham University Hospitals Trust, Queen's Medical Centre Campus, Derby Road, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK University of Liverpool, Ashton Street, L69 3GE, UK Staffordshire University, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2DF, UK Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital, Eaton Road, Liverpool, L12 2AP, UK Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, King's Mill Hospital, Sutton Road, Mansfield NG17 4JL, UK Department of Trauma and Orthopedics, "Tzanio" General Hospital, Tzani and Afendouli 1 st, Piraeus 18536, Greece Abstrac...

As some of you know I started with the Power Plate 3 weeks ago (February 28th 2012) and I am loving it! I feel fitter and my body is toning which is what I need the most, I do not particularly need to lose weight as I dropped 2 stone when Chris (my husband) died in April 2011. I do have some flabby skin which I don't like though so I want that to look better - getting ready for the beach weather - operation bikini! Last week I could feel I had done work on the power plate for 2 days afterwards, however, today I am feeling sprightly and cannot tell that I have worked out at all, the story could well be different tomorrow, will I be able to get out of bed!? Daisy from BodyBeautiful is doing a combination exercise regime with me, which includes weight loss, cellulite and toning, so we have done lots of leg work these past 2 weeks. I hate the tops of my legs so I am looking forward to seeing the transformation after 10 weeks of the power plate. I am finding that holding my positio...

I have been away for a long time blogging and I am sorry about that, however, I am back and in full fighting force and boy have I been busy! After losing my beloved husband Chris Icough I have moved to England from Spain and back again, clearly I was a little delirious, upset, tired, heart broken, stressed and very very lost. Spain is where we started our life and I missed my friends when I left, therefore, coming back to Spain was a good move for me. I have started to settle a little where my daily life and routine was concerned. During this time I lost a lot of weight, my body has thrown at me everything it possible can from rashes to daily periods! It was time to sort myself out.............. One of my gorgeous girlfriends Daisy Hudson is a gym instructor and mentioned to me about a workout she would like to get me involved with, she has just recently passed her course to become a personal trainer and during her training they had explained a little about Scoliosis to her. Daisy...

ScoliosisJournal have recently published a paper about conservative treatment of idiopathic scoliosis according to FITS concept: presentation of the method and preliminary, short term radiological and clinical results based on SOSORT and SRS criteria. Background Conservative scoliosis therapy according to the FITS Concept is applied as a unique treatment or in combination with corrective bracing. The aim of the study was to present author's method of diagnosis and therapy for idiopathic scoliosis FITS - Functional Individual Therapy of Scoliosis and to analyze the early results of FITS therapy in a series of consecutive patients. Methods The analysis comprised separately: (1) single structural thoracic, thoracolumbar or lumbar curves and (2) double structural scoliosis - thoracic and thoracolumbar or lumbar curves. The Cobb angle and Risser sign were analyzed at the initial stage and at the 2.8- year follow-up. The percentage of patients improved (defined as decrease of Cobb...

This year's Move-athon will take place on the 29th October 2011, last year we blogged about this event and it was a great success, Sharon Terry (a member of our Facebook group ) is a great inspiration for all she does for people with disabilities and Scoliosis, so this year we are again promoting the Move-athon and showing her the support she deserves. Good luck guys and we look forward to hearing all about the event. Details of this are listed below. Join the Move-athon Saturday, October 29, for the Halloween Move-athon Benefiting Pediatric Orthopaedic Research NEW YORK, NY September 2, 2011 — On Saturday, October 29, New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Orthopaedic Division will be holding their 3rd Annual Move-athon benefitting Columbia University Pediatric Orthopaedic Research Group. All funds raised will support finding innovative and effective ways to help kids with musculoskeletal conditions, such as cerebral palsy, scoliosis, spina...

Authors: Angelos Kaspiris, Theodoros B Grivas, Hans-Rudolf Weiss and Deborah Turnbull Published By: ScoliosisJournal Background In view of the limited data available on the conservative treatment of patients with congenital scoliosis (CS), early surgery is suggested in mild cases with formation failures. Patients with segmentation failures will not benefit from conservative treatment. The purpose of this review is to identify the mid- or long-term results of spinal fusion surgery in patients with congenital scoliosis. Methods Retrospective and prospective studies were included, reporting on the outcome of surgery in patients with congenital scoliosis. Studies concerning a small numbers of cases treated conservatively were included too. We analyzed mid-term (5 to 7 years) and long-term results (7 years or more), both as regards the maintenance of the correction of scoliosis and the safety of instrumentation, the early and late complications of surgery and thei...