[myGLAMrocks]

So I've had scoliosis for a couple of years and now it's really bad. My parents never really knew what it was so we ignored about my scoliosis for about 1-2 years. Then my school had to do another check and i found out that it's gotten worse so we had to go to the doctor. So now i have to get surgery next month. So i have some questions for some of you people with scoliosis..


How old are you: 16

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 4'11..i know..I'm short!

What's your scoliosis degree: 41

Have you ever worn a brace: no

Have you gotten surgery: no, but soon!
If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover:
How many inches did you grow:


Any tips:

[Nana.YahXD]

i found out i had scoliosis last year too
i didnt really think it was that bad so the person told me i could fix it in a matter of maybe years if i excersize and sit up straigh
..but as of now im 169 cm?

How old are you: 18

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 5'7

What's your scoliosis degree: not sure

Have you ever worn a brace: no

Have you gotten surgery: nope
If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover:
How many inches did you grow:


Any tips:
there is couple of excersizes i was taught
u grab something really sturdy and pull your body which needs to be straigthened out
like your arms are in the same place just move your back ..i dont know if i can really explain it
but it straighsn your back to the side it should be on
there are a couple of ecersizes i was taught..
but the main importance is u sit up straight all the time

[illneverletyougo]

How old are you: 18

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 5 feet

What's your scoliosis degree: no idea

Have you ever worn a brace: no

Have you gotten surgery: no
If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover:
How many inches did you grow: nonee

my doctor said i just have mild scoliosis on my right said and it won't get worse since i'm done growing
so yep

[sushixlovesu]

I found out i had scoliosis like 4 years ago =o Since the school i went to made it mandatory for all students to check for scoliosis >_> Anyways heres to your questions:

How old are you: 17

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you:5' 3"

What's your scoliosis degree: 29

Have you ever worn a brace: nope, i got lucky actually i went for an xray like last year and they say that the degree is bad enough for wearing braces, but I've supposedly stopped growing so they say wearing it would be pointless =x

Have you gotten surgery: Nope



Any tips: Nothing really =o You cant stop yourself from growing >__< Scoliosis happens when your body is growing so unless you can stop yourself from growing theres really nothing you can do =x And yes there are exercises you can do but my doctor says its not that effective compared to wearing a brace >____<"

[kissmexkillme]

How old are you: 15

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 5'2

What's your scoliosis degree: not sure... its pretty slight though

Have you ever worn a brace: nope

Have you gotten surgery: nope
If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover:
How many inches did you grow:


Any tips: my doctor told me to sort of balance out the weight of things your carrying... like, if you carry your bag or books or something in one arm, try to switch between both arms so you don't put as much stress on one side. it should help, or at least prevent it from getting worse

[parari]

How old are you: 19

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 5'3"

What's your scoliosis degree: 40 some

Have you ever worn a brace: no

Have you gotten surgery: no

Any tips:
I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was in 7th grade. The doctors wanted me to get surgery right away. They also tried to get me to wear a brace. I did none of these things. I don't believe that a brace will help-- it will weaken your back muscles, and the alignment of your spine will worsen and you will need surgery. The surgery also robs you of some of your functionality, and there are major risks that they don't tell you. There are people who have become disabled because the metal rods slipped out of place.

I reversed and stabilized my scoliosis through first pilates + walking, then yoga, and then weight lifting.

Pilates teaches you to strengthen and stabilize your core, which includes your abs and back muscles. It's important for them to be well-balanced and toned to keep your scoliosis from deteriorating.

When you walk, swing your arms, making sure that they're reaching the same height and going only forward and backward. This pendulum motion will even out your muscles and will realign the top portion of your spine. I noticed significant improvement after I took up the habit of walking often, and in this fashion.

Yoga does the same thing as Pilates, but the breathing makes you more conscious of your body's positioning and condition. It will also make you aware of which areas are tight and need to be loosened. Because I do yoga regularly, I can diagnose why I ache and know how to solve it through stretching or strengthening. Plow pose is beneficial to scoliosis. Take it easy-- don't do it before you are very familiar with yoga. You could hurt yourself, because it stretches and uses muscles that aren't used to being stretched and used. I didn't start doing plow pose until I had three years' experience with yoga. Until you can do plow pose, getting an inversion table or a balance ball to lie upon is also similar, except you are not strengthening muscles as much as stretching them.

Weight lifting is the very last thing to do. First, do pilates, yoga, and walking to know your body's limits and to know which areas need work. You don't want to strain yourself. If it hurts, stop. Make sure your weights are of equal weight and that each side is doing the same amount of repetitions. Pay attention to form! The reason why I don't work my weaker muscles more is because there is a chance that by doing this, you overcompensate and unbalance the muscles, making your curvature worse. You can, however, do this if you have a good private yoga/pilates instructor that can observe you and teach you how to correct your posture.

It is important to keep exercise a part of your routine-- when I don't exercise, I feel the difference.

[xlaura]

How old are you: 19

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 5'4"

What's your scoliosis degree: I think it was around... 44/43 before surgery? but now I'm around 25

Have you ever worn a brace: no

Have you gotten surgery: yes
If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover: um.. I was up and walking comfortably around 3 weeks after surgery. I couldn't lift heavy things for a while so I'd say it took about 6 months to fully recover
How many inches did you grow: I think I gained about an inch


Any tips: I was told scoliosis couldn't be healed by exercise/stretching and the brace wouldn't help me so I got the surgery. I won't lie, it was mad painful, but remember that in the end it'll be worth it =) good luck!

[parari]

Any tips: I was told scoliosis couldn't be healed by exercise/stretching and the brace wouldn't help me so I got the surgery. I won't lie, it was mad painful, but remember that in the end it'll be worth it =) good luck!

For me, the main thing is that I have an S-shaped curve, but the two curves are now balanced. What counts as healing scoliosis? If it is going to zero degrees of curvature, of course that's nearly impossible via exercise/stretching. My curves are balanced now (equal degrees), and if you think about it, no matter how hard gravity pushes, my curves can't get much worse. I'm far more functional now than before, with no pain.

Of course, each case differs, but I feel like what the doctors say have to be taken with a grain of salt. For me, they barely looked at my x-rays before jumping to the brace/surgery conclusion.

Aside from my own techniques, I also see a natural medicine doctor (naturopath?) who is also a chiropractor. In many cases, there are things that can be done without surgery or a brace to at least stabilize the scoliosis.

It really was for me a matter of persevering and blocking out most of what the doctors said to find the right methods and exercises to improve. lol, they didn't look happy when I got the x-ray that showed my improvement. They looked even less happy when they said that I didn't need the surgery anymore, nor a brace.

But really, surgery/brace is not the only option, nor is it necessarily the best one.

[kinein]

There are countless people that have rectified their scoliosis through building really athletic physiques. Others have taken it a step further into a fitness physique and others even further ~

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/thenaturalone1ky/

He is one example ~
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/thenaturalone1ky/

---------------

http://christianathlete.blogspot.com/2008/...iropractor.html
* Can check out this guys blog as well


I have scoliosis as well. In fact, I've apparently had it for a long time but only just recently found out. As you can see from the picture above, you can't tell that I have it, and I have a decent back. As for the scoliosis, I wrote about it and posted pics of my spine in my blog:

http://christianathlete.blogsp...

I have never let it stop me from training hard, and I've been able to get leaner or bigger or stronger depending on my goals.

Sure, scoliosis has caused some little issues here and there (mid and lower back pain at times, some other minor issues that I work around), but training is the one thing that has helped prevent more problems from having scoliosis!

Get a trainer. Learn about proper nutrition and training and get to work.

Oh, and see a doctor or chiropractor...and a massage therapist if you can afford it.

In his own words..

-----------------------------------------


helpful links online!
http://www.iscoliosis.com/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/scoliosis/DS00194

http://www.scoliosis.org/faq.php

http://www.ctds.info/scoliosis.html#exercise

----------------------------------------------

Key points by skimming through all info is that ~

Strength straining + Posture training can and will be effective. But not a the average soompiers level!!!!

Just thought I'd add some info!

[*Gonie]

How old are you: 19

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 5'1

What's your scoliosis degree: i have two curves, they used to be 49 and 62 degrees.. now it is 47 and 61 degrees...

Have you ever worn a brace: no

Have you gotten surgery: no
If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover:
How many inches did you grow:


Any tips:
the doctor you are seeing, is he/she a scoliosis specialist? because i don't think he/she should've recommended you to get surgery so fast... i mean, you're only 16 years old, and there's still a chance that you might hit a sudden growth spurt still so getting surgery now, at such a young age could prove to be pointless and dangerous should you hit a growth spurt....

if you're not seeing a scoliosis specialist, i HIGHLY suggest you do so AND even if you are, i would still suggest you GET A SECOND OPINION... 40 degree is pretty high but mine is higher and my dr, a scoliosis specialist never jumped on the board of surgery... he only told me that it was an option and when i went to see him, i had my heart set on getting surgery so he sat me down and told me all the pros and cons...

the thing is, i have two curves and that was why i wanted the surgery so badly but he suggested that i don't since i was at the time i met him, only 14 or 15... he didn't want me to get the surgery because i was still so young and he said at the time, i was pretty athletic, i played basketball and lifted light weights so my doctor suggested that i continue to do so...

by staying active, not only will it help you with back pains but you're strengthening your back muscles...

but if you do decide to go ahead with the surgery next month, make sure you know all the pros and cons because you will not be able to do everything you once were able to... such as contact sports, riding roller coasters, lift heavy items, etc... so just make sure you know through and through what the risks are and all...

sorry, didn't mean to post so much... but good luck if you go through with the surgery

*Gonie

[Star!Stung]

I found out about it during the end of October 2007 and my mom FREAKED just because I didn't have it when I was four. Now I'm so paranoid because my mom tells me I can't do certain things with scoliosis. I don't like it when she acts like she knows what's going wrong with me. I'm still trying to get through to her.

How old are you: 14

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 5'2"

What's your scoliosis degree: I have two degrees. I think they're about 18 and 22.

Have you ever worn a brace: no and I don't need it since I stopped growing.

Have you gotten surgery: no,
If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover: didn't get the surgery
How many inches did you grow: I haven't grown since I was 11 so I'm wondering if I'll grow with surgery.


Any tips: I get a lot of back pain but everyone thinks I'm bluffing about it! I actually want the surgery even though I was told I wouldn't need it.
I'll go get help before something actually happens to me. Like just yesterday, I was really close to dislocating my shoulder and what if something like that happened to my spine? I don't want to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

[TreehouseGirls]

How old are you: 17

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 5'2.5

What's your scoliosis degree: late 30's i think

Have you ever worn a brace: no

Have you gotten surgery: no
If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover:
How many inches did you grow:

when i first found out i had scoliosis the doctor said i wouldn't need to do anything like get a brace or surgery or anything since i wasnt going to grow anymore.. but then i did grow some more. oh well i dont think i will have to get anything done though. what really bothers me about this is though how what every doctor says is different!! one doctor gave my mom a huge scare when he said it had grown alott worse like 50 degrees but then i got another xray somewhere else and they said it was like 30 something...
and also american doctors all say that posture has nothing to do with it but when i went to korea this summer all the doctors were like posture is a big part of it!! what the heck!!
whatever i'll just keep like exercising and such
but does anyone know if posture really has anything to do with it or not? i think im going to go with the american doctors on this one. lol one of the korean doctors said the american doctor was like outdated...

tips: stretch? thats what i keep hearing. i should really take that more seriously too...

[florence8791]

How old are you: 17

are you a boy or girl: GIRL

how tall are you: 5'2

What's your scoliosis degree: 23

Have you ever worn a brace: Yep

Have you gotten surgery: Nope

Any tips:

1. Like one strap bookbags? DON'T WEAR IT! why? because it gives u an unbalanced posture, and it will help worsen ur scoliosis curve. If you carry like one notebook I guess that will be fine for you to use a one sided strap, but if u carry like textbook n a huge binder like me, don't use it. theres plenty of fashionable double strapped bookbags out there.

2. Proper sitting postures, I know sometimes sitting in some weird postures at home is pretty comfortable, in some cases where scoliosis was not genetically inherited, one of the causes may be these comfortable postures. Just sit up straight so that your back i straight as a board. My physical therapist suggested me to get this kind of computer chair where theres like a bump on the bottom near waist area, to keep your posture right. I guess you can try that.

3. If you're scared of people finding out that you have scoliosis don't wear shirts that are too tight, the bump on your may seem a little visible.

4. Wear a brace, its not quite comfortable and it looks tremendously huge and ridiculous, but wear it when you sleep? This is my suggestion because we grow when we sleep I think this is when our spine will worsen. Forget what the orthopedist say about wearing it for freakin 16 hours,you do not want to look ridiculously fat when you go out, or sweat till you melt in the summer with it on. just wear it when you sleep that should be good enough. Don't think we are finish growing taller, there are chances that we might grow.

5. I think some of us goes to the physical therapist and they teach and gives you exercises. I wonder if anyone does those exercises they are hella boring, n the moves are weird. I don't do them myself. Since most girls are diagnosed with scoliosis yoga helps a lot, there is a lot of stretching moves and i guess its less weird? Not only yoga, but if you play a sport on a regular basis, and do stretching moves before the actual sport it helps too. Stretches before sport also prevents cramps.




I think that's pretty much it. Scoliosis is not really something that prevents us from anything, its not like BAM we are dead tomorrow, we are still normal. There's plenty of other abnormal people out there that are way worse, so always have confidence in yourself, scoliosis will not stop us from doing anything like normal people.

I don't mean to scare you bu there are a few things that scoliosis might haunt us in the future. There's a risk of developing breathing problems, and back pain as an adult. Also, there is a chance that scoliosis is passed down to our offsprings.

[Azn Drifto]

How old are you: 21

are you a boy or girl: boy

how tall are you: 5'11

What's your scoliosis degree: i think it was in the 20s, doctor said it was only mild scoliosis

Have you ever worn a brace: no

Have you gotten surgery: no

If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover:
How many inches did you grow:

[`LANE]

How old are you: 17
are you a boy or girl: girl
how tall are you: 5'7"
What's your scoliosis degree: don't remember..
Have you ever worn a brace: no
Have you gotten surgery: no
How many inches did you grow: none probably.
my doctor told me it was mild........... i'm still waiting to get my second xray for it.
she made me go get an xray back in summer 07, and told me to wait a little over a year to get another

[miney2]

How old are you: 15 (now 20)

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 5f

What's your scoliosis degree: 45

Have you ever worn a brace: no...after 1 week of operation I have to wear braces for 1 month++

Have you gotten surgery: yes
If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover:around 3/4 months (hard for me to band down)

How many inches did you grow:around 5 cm only

[sososophiaaa]

I found out I had scoliosis in the 8th grade..now about three years later I've just kind of ignored it nothing really changed..

How old are you: 13 when I found out I had it, 15 now. (16 in a month )

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 5'3

What's your scoliosis degree: 8 <--I don't think that's a lot..

Have you ever worn a brace: no

Have you gotten surgery: no
If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover:

How many inches did you grow: Well in the 8th grade... I guess I was about 5'3 and .25 inches...and now I'm 5'3 and .75 inches


Any tips: Scoliosis doesn't really bother me, I don't really see any different in my posture..but if your scoliosis is really bad, then I guess surgery would do? Better than wearing one of those braces, right?

[asdf.BLAHH]

How old are you: 14

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 5'1"

What's your scoliosis degree: was 26 & 56, now at 22 & 36

Have you ever worn a brace: nope

Have you gotten surgery: yup. 2 years ago.

If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover: stayed home from school for almost two months. couldn't bend correctly for 2 months after that. & walked like a zombie for about half a month after that... but i'd say about a year.

How many inches did you grow: .5 inches.


Any tips: Just don't slouch. sit/stand/ect. correctly especially after the surgery. i didn't do that and my degrees have gotten a bit worse since my surgery.

[lawlietoii.]

I found out I had scoliosis when I was 10. Before I switched doctors my old one told me I would grow out of my curve and never told me I had scoliosis.

How old are you: 15

are you a boy or girl: girl

how tall are you: 4'11 and 3/4

What's your scoliosis degree: two curves, one is 20, the other is 15. ( i know its minor, but before treatement it was around 36 and 30 )

Have you ever worn a brace: yes. I HATED IT! Dx

Have you gotten surgery: No, and i hope never!
If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover:
How many inches did you grow:


Any tips: -You should do excercises/ streches everyday or before any 'one armed' sports like badminton or tennis
-Its better if you do more 'anti gravity' sports like skiing
-Eat more calcium enriched foods, like brocoli, milk, yogourt.
- I know it sounds stupid, but try not to lean towards the side of your curve or you will worsen it. Do excercises to lean towards the other side of your body.
- don't get a brace if you're sure you won't grow. even if you think " Maybe" you'll grow, do not get it. It is a waste of time, a waste of money, and you'll totally regret it.
-Instead go to a chiropracter specialized in Scoliosis.
-Just.. forget about it. Live life normally. Have fun!

[joongdok]

What's so bad about scoliosis? Got it ages ago due to slouching near the computer.. I still do it. >_>

How old are you: 18

Are you a boy or girl: Boy

How tall are you: 5'9"+

What's your scoliosis degree: No idea

Have you ever worn a brace: No

Have you gotten surgery: No

If yes; how long did it take for you to fully recover: I still have it

How many inches did you grow: ??

Any tips: No