In 2010, the New York Times published an article about scoliosis, an orthopedic disorder that causes curvature in the spine. A new genetic test helps adolescents predict whether or not their scoliosis will advance significantly by the time they stop growing. A number called the ScoliScore helps lead parents and surgeons towards the choice between having spinal surgery or leaving the patient as is.
An interesting aspect about this condition is that adults are “10 times as likely as adolescents to require corrective surgery.” Scoliosis can interfere with an adult’s health in ways such as chronic obstructive lung disease, peripheral vascular disease, coronary artery disease, advanced arthritis of the hip and knees, and spinal stenosis.
What may be more preventative than the information learned from a ScoliScore is the solution of exercise. Focusing on spinal flexibility and core muscular strength is proven to help avoid these symptoms. However, if serious nerve symptoms have already occurred, then surgery is the better solution.
I am 19 years old and was diagnosed with scoliosis four years ago, when I started wearing a back brace. Strength exercises and yoga have helped relieve pain and discomfort in my back, hips, and shoulders. I have been able to work through the asymmetry in my body, thanks to the combination of the science of genetics and the science of exercise.
Photo taken from http://drekim.net/2010/06/scoliosis-and-proprioception/.
Katherine,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post-- I too was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was a child and also wore a back brace for a few years. (My older sister also went through the same thing). It's so important that children be tested when they are young, especially since the disease is sometimes hereditary. In my case, the disease was not hereditary: I am actually missing one piece of a vertebrae in my back, which led my spine to curve. If I had not worn the brace, I would have probably needed corrective surgery. I agree that exercise helps so much though! My back used to hurt severly from sitting for a long time, but now that I exercise every day, I rarely feel any pain.
I thought that this post was very relevant for our society today. I remember back in seventh grade getting tested for scoliosis by the school nurse. I had a slight case of it and the nurse picked up on it. I went to my doctor and he said the condition was mild enough that it would fix itself as I grew and I did not need a brace. I was grateful for that, and grateful that my school checked for it at early ages. I think if we as a society can pick up on conditions like this sooner, then we can spare people pain and problems in the future. Great blog post Katherine, really informative.
ReplyDeleteDuring my sister's 7th grade year last year she was diagnosed with scoliosis by the school nurse. Since my dad is a chiropractor, he figured this was next to impossible and did some investigating.. Turned out my sister didn't have scoliosis but she had something that she would need corrective surgery for. The bones in her one leg were shorter than the bones in her other. Later in life this would have caused serious pain and she would have needed her hips replaced by 18, so she had to get surgery to fix it. They cut her femur bone in half and she wore an external fixator on her thigh for 4 months. Each day different knobs had to be turned and it ended up lengthening her bones by almost 2 full inches. Though the nurse was wrong about her scoliosis, if she didn't diagnose her we probably still wouldn't know my sister had such a serious issue going on.
ReplyDeleteHeres a picture: http://i55.tinypic.com/10z0gmf.jpg
Great post!