The Clacton & Frinton Gazette                                                          Tuesday 10^th May 2011

An hour’s stretching a day keeps the surgeon away

THE thought of having metal rods inserted into his back and fused to his spine was enough to make Rowan Cottee search for an alternative solution to his medical condition.

The sporty 17-year-old was diagnosed with scoliosis when he was 15 and faced a year-long wait to see a consultant about his treatment.

It gave him time to research other options and he is thankful he did.

Now his condition, which causes a curvature of the spine and twisting of his ribs, is being controlled through exercise as part of a programme called Scoliosis SOS, rather than that frightening-sounding operation.

Rowan, of The Street, Tendring, says: “The operation seemed pretty extreme to me.

“If I’d had to have rods inserted into my back I wouldn’t have been able to do the activities I am enjoying now. It would have restricted the movement of my spine and I would have been moving about uncomfortably. It just put me off.”

Rowan first realised something was wrong when his parents, Julia and Richard, noticed his shoulder blade sticking out. A closer look confirmed his back was “a bit deformed”.

It didn’t hurt and it still doesn’t, Rowan says, despite the fact his curvature is quite severe – 82 degrees, in something of an S-shape.

He says: “There doesn’t seem to be much correlation between the severity of scoliosis and the level of pain you have. At the clinic where I go, there are people who have a mild curvature of the spine. They get lots of pain, but I don’t.”

Doctors monitored Rowan over the course of a year while he waited for his appointment with a specialist, but nobody ever mentioned the Scoliosis SOS programme to him.

It is run at a clinic in Woodbridge, Suffolk, and uses non-surgical methods. For Rowan, this means a series of muscle-strengthening exercises around the spine and an hour a day of stretches. He then visits the clinic once every three months.

He says: “Doing these exercises has generally made me more aware of my own posture and making sure I don’t slump. In June, I will have been doing this for two years. I had my 16^th birthday there and I turn 18 this June.”

Each time at the clinic, Rowan’s spine is checked for curvature and the rotation of his ribcage, which gives him a hump. He also receives physiotherapy and gets to meet others with the condition.

Rowan says: “I can see the hump getting smaller. It’s making quite a dramatic difference.”

However, Rowan, who is working as an apprentice at an animal rescue centre in Thorrington, insists he is not bothered about how the scoliosis looks to others.

More important to him is the fact his condition hasn’t stopped him playing sport, though contact sports and lifting heavy objects are a no-no.

Since his diagnosis his siblings have been also checked for the hereditary condition and found to have a mild case, though his parents and grandparents show no sign of it.

He is positive about the future and sees no reason not to remain pain-free and surgery-free for the rest of his life.

Rowan says: “It’s up to me if I do have surgery if the scoliosis gets worse, but I would rather not have it, so I can keep all the movement in my spine.

“It’s up to me, really. I need to keep doing the exercises, which should stop or decrease the curves of the spine for the rest of my life.”

The Star SERVING SOUTH YORKSHIRE    www.thestar.co.uk  Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Climber recovers to lead high life

A ROCK climbing teenager from Sheffield is scaling the heights once more – after lifesaving treatment for a potentially-fatal spinal condition.

Timothy Carter, aged 17, was an energetic and active young boy with a passion for rock climbing until he was diagnosed with scoliosis in October last year.

He had started to suffer from excruciating back pain and had been told his condition was so serious he would need to undergo major spinal fusion surgery immediately.

Timothy said: “Finding out I had scoliosis was life-changing”

“I am passionate about rock climbing and I knew if I had my spine fused I would never be able to move properly again. I knew I would lose my flexibility and that it would take me at least a year to recover from the operation.”

Scoliosis, which causes the spine to curve and can eventually crush vital internal organs, affects around four percent of the population.

Timothy said: “Sitting on the sidelines watching my friends having fun was soul-destroying.”

The condition’s standard treatment is to fit a patient with a back brace for at least four years, or to carry out a major operation which bears greater risks even then open heart surgery.

After being diagnosed Timothy was told he was too old for a back brace and that he would be put straight on the list for surgery.

Desperate to find an alternative, Timothy’s parents came across a clinic called Scoliosis SOS, which was founded by sufferer Erika Maude. It allows sufferers to recover through exercise rather than surgery.

Timothy said: “when my parents told me about the treatment I was ecstatic. I love keeping active and climbing at any opportunity I have. So doing exercises to keep my back in good condition and to avoid surgery was not a problem.

“Once I started to read about what the exercises involved and how they worked I was even more excited. For the first time since my diagnosis, I could see an end to all the back pain I was suffering. It was also amazing to believe that, even though my spine was curving, I could prevent it getting worse.”

Timothy avoided surgery and has now gone back to playing sports three times a week.

He said: “Last year I missed out on so much, including a seven-day climbing trip. This year I have my tickets booked and can’t wait to go.”

26 LIFESTYLE                                             Birmingham Post

Thursday 29 October 2009

Faced with a costly operation to straighten her back kickboxer Paige Davis has sought an alternative method. Diane Parkes Reports

Schoolgirl Paige Davis is no softy. How could she be when she enjoys the sport of kickboxing?

But the 13-year-old Birmingham girl may be forced to give up the sport because of spinal problems unless a revolutionary treatment succeeds.

Paige took up kickboxing five years ago, but was devastated to learn she would need a massive operation and metal rods in her back to correct a curvature of her spine.

Such surgery would stop her training and competing as a kickboxer because it would limit her movement and put her at risk of serious injury if she suffered a blow to the spine.

That is a devastating prospect for the Perryfields High School student, who lives in Quinton.

Her mother Tina, 38, explains: “It was in April that Paige told us that she was having some pain in her back. We looked but couldn’t see anything wrong, but we were concerned so we took her to see her GP.

“He asked her to bend and when she did so you could see that there was an abnormality with her back – it wasn’t straight.

Referred to Birmingham’s Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, the family were given the news that Paige would have to undergo a ten hour operation which involved fusing parts of her spine and inserting metal rods to stabilise it.

“Basically they told us that scoliosis is caused in growth spurts,” says Tina.

“They gave her an X-ray and they said she had a curvature of 54 degrees which is very bad and she would need an operation,”

But there were potential problems as businessman father Kevin, 46, explains: “They said the operation really needed to be done while she was still growing and at her age that would probably be within the next two years. But then they said there was a waiting list between 12-18 months.”

Kevin, who runs a private ambulance service, and Tina decided they could not afford to wait and decided they could not afford to wait and decided to go private.

“It was going to cost £25,000 to go private but we felt we had to do it,” he says.

A date was set for August 24 of this year but during the intervening period, the family were told about an alternative treatment based at two centres in Suffolk and London run by the organisation Scoliosis SOS.

Scoliosis SOS was founded by Erika Maude after she developed scoliosis and underwent treatment in Spain.

Her treatment did not include surgery but instead depended on a series of exercises. Convinced it had been a success, Erika launched Scoliosis SOS in the UK where therapists are trained in a method known as ScolioGold.

“My Sister-in-law read an article in a magazine about a girl who rode horses who has the same curvature as Paige and had been to Scoliosis SOS and had managed to avoid having the operation,” recalls Tina.

“I was sceptical but I read the article and then I looked it up on the internet. We sent over our photographs and had a consultation on the phone and they said they could help us. But they made us no promises and never said it was a miracle cure,”

And so, in the middle of August, Kevin, Tina, Paige and her 12-year-old sister Kirstan, also a pupil at Perryfields School, spent a month in rented accommodation in Suffolk while Paige attended daily sessions at the centre.”

The daily routine involved learning and practising exercise from 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday – mastering them so that Paige could continue the exercises at home.

“The exercises were basically aiming to elongate the back, straighten it and build up the muscles along the back. She was using bars, fit balls, all kinds of things,” says her mum.

“They took measurements at the beginning of the month and again at the end of the month and they said there had been a small improvement.

“Because it would get worse as she continues to grow they are aiming to put a halt to the curvature getting any worse.”

Once Paige stops growing she will still need do the exercise for 30 minutes each day to keep her spine straight.

The course cost £2,500 as well as living costs but her parents believe it was well worth it – as long as the treatment works.

There is debate over the success of the method and Paige’s family are refusing to be over-optimistic until they are able to see the proof. With Paige having won UK and European championships in kickboxing, they are all hoping that by avoiding the operation she can carry on with the sport she enjoys.

“Our specialist said he understood why we wanted to try it but he didn’t think it would work,” says Kevin.

“But we feel we have to try it as we would prefer for her not to have the operation.

“If she has the operation it will mean she can hardly do any sport and she loves it. Also, who would want to put their daughter through a ten-hour operation if there was an alternative?

“We had X-rays done before she went to Suffolk and we intend to have more X-rays done in December. We felt we needed to give it enough time to work.

Since coming home, the family have converted a room into ‘Paige’s gym’ and she has to follow the exercise regime for 45 minutes every day.

“We are trying to be positive about it but we may find later in the year that she still needs to have the operation.”

Health & Lifestyle QUARTERLY

Scoliosis is a condition that causes excessive curvature of the spine. Nick Elvin discovers how a non-surgical treatment has helped one north London woman

WHEN Moira Young was given the news that the crippling back pains she had started to experience would get worse, it seemed her only option was to undergo a gruelling operation.

Moira was told that the pain was caused by an extremely severe spinal deformity known as scoliosis.

Scoliosis causes the spine to excessively curve sideways, and if left untreated can lead to fatal heart and lung problems.

Describing herself as “an energetic woman, and passionate about life”, Moira became unable to do any of the activities she enjoyed, such as visiting art galleries, and volunteering for conservation work on Hampstead Health. Even simple things become difficult.

“I was suffering on a daily basis sometimes to the point where I just could not leave the house,” says the 65-year-old Hampstead resident.

“I’d wake up in the morning and think I’m alright, but all I’d have to do is walk down the road to get a paper and I was in pain. With the voluntary work I couldn’t even get to the sites we were working because they involved a walk,”

After endless x-rays and appointments with a local consultant, Moira was told she had no other option but to sit back and wait for her condition to deteriorate or to endure nine hours under the surgeon’s knife.

The thought of doing nothing and just waiting for the curve to become worse was bad enough for Moira, but the other option of being sliced open terrified her.

A major operation, surgery for scoliosis involves metal rods being inserted either side of the spine, before the spine is fused solid.

Moira started to search for an alternative treatment, and came across Scoliosis SOS, the only clinic in the world to offer treatment following the ScolioGold method. The clinic has branches in Suffolk and London.

The ScolioGold method involves a four-week course of exercises, six hours each day, five days a week, and patients are also taken through the theory behind the condition, ensuring that they fully understand what scoliosis is, and how they can live with it. All the clinic’s therapists are qualified physiotherapists and osteopaths.

Once at the clinic Moira says her initial apprehension quickly evaporated and she was also glad to be around other people suffering from the same condition. It is estimated that more than four percent of the population have scoliosis.

“It really helped knowing that I was not alone,” she adds.

“It’s all exercises. What they do is strengthen the muscles in the back and you’re more upright. They’re strenuous exercises, but it’s worth it and you have to carry on with it.”

Moira is now completely pain free, although she has continued doing her exercises at home, but for a shorter period of time, to keep her spine in good condition. She says she has learnt how to hold her body and how to look after her back, and also now feels comfortable in clothes she would never have thought of wearing before, while her confidence has improved dramatically.

“Being able to reduce my pain at my age has been fantastic,” says Moira. “I have so much left to give to the community and I am just so grateful that the treatment has given me the opportunity to continue with my volunteer work, as I enjoy it so much.

“I’m determined to keep up these exercises. It’s done a lot of good, but you’ve got to keep on doing it.”