11:49am Tuesday 25th August 2009
About one in 20 of us suffer from a spinal deformity known as scoliosis. Health Editor Barry Nelson talks to one North-East sufferer who says she is standing much taller after treatment at a private clinic.
AFTER years of suffering from a spinal deformity, Jennifer Chui decided to do something about it.
The 28-year-old from Langley Park, near Durham, developed a marked bend in her spine when she was growing up.
Known as scoliosis, this condition affects up to four per cent of the population and often affects teenage girls. Treatment usually consists of observation, bracing and – in severe cases – surgery.
In Jennifer’s case, her condition didn’t hurt so her parents decided not to put her through a potentially risky operation to straighten her spine. But as she got older she became more and more self-conscious that her spine was bent to the right and that her right shoulder blade jutted out.
“I was really aware of my curved back. I could hide it quite well most of the time, but if I was wearing a bikini or a tight top, you could definitely tell,” says Jennifer.
While she was grateful that her parents didn’t insist on surgery when she was in her teens, Jennifer began to wonder what she could do to correct her posture and have a more normal life. The option of spinal fusion surgery was always there but Jennifer was desperate to avoid going under the knife.
It was when she was searching on the internet that she came across the website for Scoliosis SOS. “It sounded really interesting so I decided to find out more about it,” she says.
Scoliosis SOS runs a private clinic in London and Martlesham, in Suffolk.
Set up by Erik Maude, a scoliosis sufferer who was impressed by the therapy offered at a similar centre in Barcelona, the clinic offers a four-week course of intensive treatment, six hours a day, five days a week.
Using a special form of physiotherapy known as ScolioGold, therapists work with patients in very small groups, following an individual exercise programme, designed to meet their needs.
As well as the exercise therapy, patients are given detailed information on how to manage their condition so they fully understand their symptoms and live a more active, fuller life.
Jennifer was impressed at the testimonials on the Scolosis SOS website and after attending for a free initial consultation, she signed up.
The office worker had had some physiotherapy in the past and also practised yoga but the therapy offered at the Scoliosis SOS clinic was much more intensive. “You are working from 10am to 5pm every day. The therapist is working all the time on your back muscles,” she says.
One of the aims of this approach is to ‘re-educate’ the body so that you are more aware of the need to correct your posture. “You are in your normal scoliotic posture for so long you forget your spine is not straight. The therapists teach you to stand straight and how to maintain this posture,” says Jennifer.
A key part of the Scoliosis SOS process is to train the patient to carry on the good work at home using equipment which costs around £700. “I do half an hour a day,” says Jennifer.
The course cost a not-insubstantial £3,000, but Jennifer feels it was money well spent. “I would say that I am now much more upright than I was before. We were given before and after pictures and I think my back looks a lot straighter.”
Patients are warned that there is no cure for scoliosis, but with daily excercises, they are told it should be possible to maintain a more upright posture. Most of the patients at Scoliosis SOS were women, because women tend to be more aware of their appearance.
While Jennifer is happy with what Scoliosis SOS had to offer, not everyone believes in such therapy. Anyone who googles the word “scoliosis” on the web will quickly find the scoliosis page on the popular BB Health Conditions website.
Written by Dr Trisha Macnair, the article mentions that some people recommend a special programme of exercises to improve posture and function.
But Dr Macnair says: “However, these involve a very intensive and expensive course of training, and there is, as yet, no convincing scientific evidence to prove that there are any lasting effects or that the exercises prevent the need for surgery.”
If scoliosis symptoms get worse in adult life, Dr Mcnair recommends that should talk to your GP.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/trade_directory/