I stand corrected

The first day we were at Scoliosis SOS we had a "before" photo taken.  Photos would be taken every Friday until the end of the 4 week term to track our progress (or not as the case might but hopefully won't be).  We were given a copy to post at our exercise station after analysing it.

My "Before" Photo

Note my rounded shoulders and head placed too forward, causing neck strain.  My weak point is at my waist on the right, and my right hip is shifted too far over to the right. 

Sigh. 

If I wasn't humble before I am now! It was really the first time I had ever seen my back as someone else would.  And it made me realize that there is this whole side of ourselves that moves as we do and where we go and of which we have no idea where it sits in our bodies.  Where it lives and grows and changes.  We are so familiar with our faces and bellies and feet, with our hairline and lipline and hemline, but have no idea about what that column that supports us and carries us into our futures looks like, and moves like.

By the end of our first week, we had been placed into our active corrected positions, which means we were shifted and prodded and poked into a position that felt wrong and weird to those of us inhabiting said position. It takes a minute or so to achieve this, and we must start by rocking back and forth on our feet to ensure our weight is evenly distributed on both feet, with 60% on the heels and 40% on the toes, with a little more weight on the big toe than the others. Stand tall as possible - elongate. Then we adjust our lordosis, tilting our pelvis back and forth to obtain just the right amount of curve without tucking our bottoms too much either.  Stand tall - elongate!  Next, the hips.  Do you need to shift one of them?  Where?  What about the rib cage?  Shoulders must be settled back and down.  Tuck the chin in and stand with the back of your head in line with the back of your back. Elongate, elongate, elongate!

As we stretched and exercised, the instructors would occassionally say THL L shift your right shoulder.  RC3 move your left hip back.  It all feels incredibly strange. However, we had to trust that the physiotherapists saw something we did not.  We stand in our new positions to be approved of before flouncing home at the end of the day, like schoolchildren who have cleaned their desks or finished their sums.

Now in our second week we must show off our corrected positions more frequenly throughout the day, and I have a funny feeling that we will be required to work our exercises in them soon.  It's enough to remember what to do with the poles and beanbags and wedges and mats and balls and all the other accoutrements without having to remember where my hips and shoulders have to be!

And now a word from our sponsor

Balham…. pronounced Balh – am……..but I call it Blahm (sounds more posh)

It sounds a bit murky finding out that the community of Balham was included in the “Doomsday Book”, and as “Belgeham”.  But the Brits are proud of those two characteristics.

I am blessed to have a friend living in Balham who has a spare bed and an open wine cooler.  The poor thing has another friend staying long term, and she’s undergoing home renovations.  Now that’s a friendship!

Balham is located south of the river, between Clapham (i.e., Clahm) and Tooting.

It was a peaceful little hamlet for most of its history (which began in the eight century or so - sometime in the dark ages anyway)  but has had the odd noticeable event.  In 1876 a fellow called Charles Bravo was poisoned in the Priory (sounds like a board game - Poisoned in the Priory with a ....well.... with poison I guess).  The case remains unsolved and no loves an unsolved murder like the Brits.  It became a national obsessiona at the time, with all sorts of books and television shows about it.

If any of you have seen the movie "Atonement" from the book by Ian McEwan, you will have witnessed another notable event in Balham's history.  In 1940 England suffered a multitude of bombing raids.  On October 14th of that year 1940, Balham High Road was hit by a bomb which fractured a water main. This resulted in the flooding of the underground station, in which people were sheltering from the air-raid, resulting in over 60 deaths. There is a famous photograph of a bus which had slid into the crater in the High Road. A memorial plaque was unveiled in the station on the sixtieth anniversary in 2000.

 

 

Renewal

Spring is the season of renewal and rejuvination. After being naked all winter, trees start to don their green gowns, but before the leaves are fully open it appears to me as it the trees are trying on sometheing sheer and delicate. I notice their branches even more at this time of year as they remind me of a woman just starting to dress herself, her lovely body caught at the moment before her outer clothes are fully on.

In my morning walks I would notice this new flower or that new leaf  and feel connected to the natural world and the changing seasons.  Spring in Vancouver is long and lovely and when I left home in mid-April it was already well into it, the tulips up, camelias, flowering, rhododendrons blooming and rosebuds forming. 

But England had a very cold and slow start to Spring this year, and when I arrived the trees were completely bare. The only hint that the sun was entering the northern hemisphere were scores of bright yellow daffodils. I saw them in huge drifts on grassy fields and bare mounds.  Every time I see such displays I always think of William Wordsworth's words:

                                                   I wandered lonely as a Cloud

                                                   That floats on high o'er Dales and Hills

                                                   When all at once I saw a crowd

                                                   A host of dancing daffodils

 

Only for some reason I always replace the word "dancing"with "golden" but then those Lakeland Romantics always did like their alliteration.  And he did teach me what "iambic pentameter" is so I am grateful to him.

 

On my walks to and from the back clinic, the world was starting to wake here, buds forming and the smallest of flowers coming up again in the tiniest of cracks, every square inch a garden in this country. Just like spring, I am getting a second chance to relearn how to move and stand and move into the next phase of my life. I am lucky to have that chance just as I am lucky to witness the birth of sopring twice in the same year.
 

Week One - Done

We have been sent home for the weekend to reflect on what we have learned during this first week, and I must admit that there has been quite a lot.

For example, it's not really the spine that curves but the muscles around it. And as the muscles get used to it, thus grows the spine.  It's a vicious circle really.  Uneven load bearing causes the body to readjust, and that means the muscles grow incorrectly, which causes load bearing to change, etc.

Wearing a heavy satchel or book bag does not cause scoliosis.  However, if you already have scoliosis, wearing a heavy bag, espeically off one shoulder, adds to the load bearing impbalance and can thus make it worse.  And poor posture in childhood and adolescence can affect the load bearing as well.  Being shy, for example, and holding your body inward at the time of body growth means the torso and shoulders curve forward, thus pulling the muscles out of alignment and thus the spine.

Guilty.

Everyone has a curvature of the spine to some degree, but scoliosis by definition means there is rotaional aspect to the spine as well, for the curve is such that the ribs twist and cause humps and bumps in one's back. This can affect the lungs as they are shifted within the ribs, reducing lung function. Catching colds easily and coughing for longer than usual is one sympton of scoliosis.  So is continuoous shortness of breath and decreased cardio-vasular systems, feeling cold, and getting pins and needles in the extremities.

Oh my, I have it all!

Thus curvatures can take many forms, and each form is classified according to its location of the spine and its direction.  My classification is THL L (Thoraso-lumber Left).  My curve is to the right, but the rib and vertebrae hump is on the  left.  they call it a "paquete". My right side is indented at the waist, which is called "the weak point". I took that to mean the spine was being pulled down from the top of of the right side, but it is actually the left side, the side with the hump that is overstretched and underworked.

A load imbalance means the body shifts and the feet must compensate, which means they might flatten or the heels strike over on the outside, which in turn might cause weak ankles or a pronated knee. 

It's good to have some curve at both the base of the spine (Lordosis) and the top (Kyphosis) , but too much is not good. 

What surprised me was finding out that too little lordosis and kyphosos is just as bad as having too much.  I have a bit of a sway back, as my pelvis rocks forward, which means I have to pull my belly in and get those abdominal muscles working to do what the spine isn't.  I also have a flat upper back, so I must do two specific exercises to round my upper back. One of them is to place a theraband around my back and arms at shoulder height, with a foam wedge snugly settle between my shoulder blades.  Then I must pull the band forward as I round my back and hold it for 6 seconds, in repeitions of 12 or so.  The other exercise is to rest on hands and knees as you would for the yoga post "Cat", but to only move the upper part, with shoulders hunched towards the ground.

It doesn't matter one bit what side of the bed you sleep on or what type of pillow you use, although having your head in a neutral position is good.  However, one-sided activities can add to the body's imbalance.  That means tennis, golf, and bowling for example, but it also means ironing, vacuuming and mopping.  (Hmm..... that sounds like a good excuse for getting someone else to do all the housework!)  It also means some forms of dancing, playing musical instruments (like guitar or violin) and painting.  Having babies is particulary difficult on spines with scoliosis, and for some reason can also impact on being able to bear children at all (although I know of a few twisted spines that have produed more than one healthy baby).

Well, there goes my career as the mother of triplets, a violin virtuoso and an Olympic gold medal tennis player!

bunions, bunions, la, la, la

Have you ever come across a word that you inferred a meaning and then found out years later that it was not exactly correct?  The word "gout" was one of those words for me.  It was a word I only ever saw in boods: Dickens' works were full of rich, old men who had gout and sat around eating all day. I thought it meant something to do with too much food and no exercise.  What's so bad about that? Now I hear about gout all the time and have since found out it is caused by too much uric acid in the blood which crystallizes in joints, often the toes. So there.

Another of those words was "bunion".  I thought a bunion was a growth on the bone, either a knobby bit of something or the bone itself growing a bump.  Well, now I know that a bunion can be caused by scoliosis!  Well, kinda, in a round about way. 

My scoliosis impacts my pelvis, so that it tilts and raises one hip higher than the other, which means one foot hits the ground later than the other, which means my gait is uneven, which puts pressure on one foot, which means I have a bunion.

Oh, and bunion?  I know what is really is now.  It's real name is hallux abducto valgus. Rather posh, but "valgus" sounds too much like "vulgar" to be a good thing.  It's when the angle of the bone that goes from your foot to your big toe starts to get steeper, the big toe turns in and the angle point starts to stick out.  Ok, that's confusing even to me.  It's basically just a faulty mechanical stucture.  Now if only I had a good diagram I could show you what I mean.

Oh why thank you Mr. X-ray man!

 



See how the bone starts to stick out at the base of the big toe?  That's the bunion.  This poor fellow has a bunion on each foot.  I hope he has comfortable footwear. I certainly have to buy shoes a little differently.  If there's a seam or a stiff bit  my bunion rubs against the shoe and it gets red and blistered. 

my own sad little toes and bunion

If you have the same thing happening with your little toe, it's called a tailor's bunion or a- get this - bunionette.  That's so cute!  Or course I had to chase down the origin of that name and, as is usual, it originated hundreds of years ago, when tailors sat cross-legged all day.  Their little toes would rub on the ground, and over time turned red and became a painful bump at the base of the little toe.

And just like a rowdy queue at a concert, when one big individual (the big toe) pushes the line from one end, the others start to bunch up. The 'knuckles' of my other toes are now starting to rub up into the tops of my shoes. And, like the march of time, you can't keep a good bunion down.  All you can do it try to keep it from getting worse. 

Orthotics, ice, medications, change of footwear, toe spacers, bunion splints and bunion cushions. Surgery too of course but it's a tricky little operation and best left until all else has failed.

I have tried quite a few toe spacers.  some of them have a tendency to pop out of position, which is not good. They then drift around all over my feet inside my shoes.  The ones I like best are from Intelligel and no I am not being paid top say so. Mind you if Intelligel wanted to give me a ifetime supply of toe spacers I wouldn't say no, as my podiatrist and physiotherapist have told me I should wear them every day for the rest of my life.  Mind you, they are not expensive.  Even though I have feet on the smallish side, I wastold to wear the large ones as they provide the greatest benefit.

My yoga teacher recommended an even more adventurous option to wear when hanging about at home. I got them at one of the larger yoga studios in town. But in this case I was extremely careful to choose the smaller option as instructed.  Especially with my little, curled toes, trying to fit the larger choice was like a 14th century form of torture.  Now my toes can stretch and breathe!

Happy Toes!

Days 2, 3 and 4 at the Clinic

These days have been much the same as each other really. We learn new stretches that put us into contorionist positions that are to be held for seemingy hours.  We learn new exercises that make use of mats or large yoga balls or flexible bands or all three, and these are repeated for seemingly hours.

We have been classified according to our specific curve (I'm a Thl L, for Theraco-lumbar Left, which means my curve starts in the middle of my back on down, and curves to the left.)

We have each had a lung capacity test, where we blew as hard as possible into a little tube while a graphic of the wolf blowing down the pigs' straw house danced in front of us on the computer, which determined whether we did have enough puff to do much structural damage to the porcine abode after all. 

We have had one-to-one assessments where our flexibility and core were tested (thank you Anita, Shauna and Nancy - I had the best core of the group!) and one of the four physiotherapists noted our medication and pain intensities and any other interesting tidbit that they determined relevant.

Our walking pattern has been analyzed.  We stepped along a spcial pad that registered our weight distribution digitally and then illustrated it on screen as if it was a topographical map. I was flatly told I have flat feet. Which I knew, but being told I have flat feet is somehow unflattering.  I was also told the top part of may back is flat, which I thought would be a good thing, but apparently it's not particularly. I now must do a special exercise to round that upper part, and send my breath into it to expand the space into a nice "natural" curve.

At lunch time we troop off alone or in small clusters to one of the little parks nearby to each our packed food.  And this is where it gets surreal.

It's April.  It's London.  It's warm. 

I am just as surprised as you are!  We sit on the grass in our tee-shirts and exercise leggings and gaze around at the typically vast array of people taking up every square inch of grass available.  Jackets come off and we are blinded by the white of so many shirts, the City's uniform in its 'at ease' mode.  Everyone eats sandwiches or salads bought at Tesco Metro or M&S, the mini-grocery stores that make their money between 1pm and 2pm every working day, queues of people with their prawn cocktails and chicken tikkas and egg mayonnaises lining up around the aisles, a snake of black and navy and grey light wool.

Then suddeny it's time to go back and we join the chain back to our 'office' ready to do 4 more sets of 'side lining on a ball' or 'supine tension with poles' or 'ballerina stretch'.  Just another day at the office.

Guilty Pleasures

I knew that I would be missing home and working hard so smuggled in some guilty pleasures:

Hawkins Cheezies are for the Canadian in me and Curly Wurly for the city I'm in. 

I have 20 days of clinic visits so let's see here now.

16 bags of Cheezies and 5 Curly Wurlys. That makes 21. 

That means I have one over!

I'd better eat two tonight.

Scoliosis SOS Clinic - Day 1

OMG, this is going to be no picnic!

It started serenely enough, a lot like the first day at school: packed lunch in hand, prescrived clothing, lockers assigned, meeting everyone, handing in the fees.  The founder of this place, Erika Maude, who looks as straight as an arrow and as young as can be did the power point thing telling us her story (concerned at age 11, GP said it's nothing, more concerned at age 13, spinal doctor said urgent surgery needed, chose brace for 2 years, took it off and curve came back worse, found clinics operating on the European continent, achieved success, returned to the UK and petitioned for a similar clinic, started it in home county Suffolk 2006, demand led to another in London, now just the London one operating - did I forget anything?) and then she rattled off the statistics: 3-4% of the population have scoliosis, 80% of that is of unknown origin and 75% of that is non-hereditary.

Symptoms include changes to body shape, pains (chronic, aching or sciatic),loss of mobility or function, respiratory issues (persistent coughs, shortness of breath, feeling tired due to reduced lung capacity, disordered digestion, psychological issues (depression), decreased cardio-vascular system, feeling cold, pins and needles. 

We saw a slide indicating activities that can cause progression.  Expected ones like running, gymnastics and lacrosse but guitar playing was a new one. And was that diagram warning us not to hold babies or not to have them?

I predicted we would have 40% teenaged girls, 40% middle aged women and 20% men, and I was close.  We are 10 in number: 2 teens, 3 young adults, 2 middle aged and 2 over 60.  3 men, 7 women. 2 Canadians (1 living in London), 1 Australian, 1 American (living in Nepal) and the rest reflecting the rich ethnic make-up of Great Britain today.

We were weighed and measured and photographed, then taken to a room with full length mirrors placed on the two long walls.  These were covered with wide wooden ladders from floor to ceiling. We each had our own spot, our own ladder in front of our own mirror.  We did warming exercises in a circle: lunges, knee hikes, arm circles; then coordinaton exercises with a bean bag: tossing it to the otehr hand, to another person,across a wide expance; then stretching exercises: quads, pecs, lats; then exercise exercises which I didn't find too awful - until the 30th repetition or so!

And that was it really. Hours of 5minute long stretches and 50 rep exercises.  I was pleased to note I was fairly flexible and fairly strong compared to the rest.  But I am the pudgiest one there, and I'm not all that pudgy!  The two physiotherapists blythly said good night telling us we will be in pain tomorrow but not to worry that's normal byee!

A hot bath and a glass of wine awaits.  Byeee!

Team Jennifer

The spine specialist told to keep doing whatever it was I was doing.  And that was running, which he told me I can't do anymore. I obviously had to rethink my strategy.

Time to assemble my Team.

A team approach helped me with my running, so I figure the same approach could be used for my scoliosis.  "Team Jennifer" as I call it is a tight little group of people that provide practical and emotional support on a regular basis, and who go above and beyond for me.

I'm lucky to have my Team Captain so close at hand.  Martin has been there for me right from the first time he spun me on the dance floor.  I knew he would stand up for me no matter what.  He comforts me when I cry in the dark and listens patiently when I work things through verbally and at length. He takes me where I need to go and pushes me just enough to get me to the next level.  He loves my curvy back because it is part of me.  He is a Team unto himself, but it would be unfair to place the entire role on him.

Physically, I have my adorable kick-butt pilates teacher Shauna, and my equally brilliant, patient yoga teacher Nancy.  I recently added another pilates teacher, Anita, another spitfire who has experience working with scoliosis sufferers, and massage therapist Gaelen, who shares a personal interest in the condition.  On a personal level are loving Silvia, Adrienne and Eric, and my parents who are always right there for me if I need them for anything. 

Outside that solid little squad are a wealth of family members: immediate, tenuous and in-lawful - and friends: near, far and far-ish.  At various times until they couldn't help me any more, my team included professionals in acupuncture, nutrition, physiotherapy, psychology. Also singing teachers, dancing teachers, walking partners, writing partners.  People I've known all my life, people I've known at various time and various places, people who I've only recenty met - they are all in the bleachers offering support and cheering me on in whatever way they could.

Having a team makes me feel empowered, that there is always something new to try, and confident that things will work out fine. 

The 5 Stages: #2 Anger

This stage is a tough one.  However much I consider it, I just can't seem to be angry. 

For one thing, who would I be angry with?  The general consensus in the spine world right now is that I probably had it at birth.  There might even be a scoliosis gene.  No one in my family's history had scoliosis, so it was off everyone's radar.  I have poor teeth (I am missing several adult teeth - they just never formed) and an acupuncturist told me they are related events, but even the thought of a connection wouldn't have been made until all my adult teeth were in (or not as the case may be).

I do wonder why my ballet teachers and my school gym teachers and my doctor didn't notice something as they were the only ones who would have seen my back in a forward bend.  I shot up 8" in one year and that is likely when the curves manifest, but no one checked.  When it was detected at age 18, the specialist said it was too late to wear a back brace as I had finished growing, and at 39 degrees it was a little short of a surgical option.

And what would have come of it if it had been detected earlier? I was a shy, skinny, spotty, awkward girl who didn't know what to do about her height and was self-conscious about her body.  Would I have appreciated having to wear something like this?

Boston back brace, used in the 1970s

Hell no!  I would have been mortified and terribly depressed.  The internet is full of personal accounts of those teenagers in braces now or grown-ups who had worn braces in their formative years and I haven't found one person yet who reported being happy with it.  Some were downright traumatized.

And the surgical option?  What was (and still is to a certain extent) typically done is a spinal fusion, with individual vertebrae pinned or fused to each other, then two stainless steel rods were inserted down either side of the spine. All surgeries carry risk and a back surgery carries more risk than others, as there have been cases when nerves are cut by accident and all feeling is lost in various limbs.  When successful, this surgery means less back pain, but very restricted mobility.  The only time I felt comfortable in my body was in dance class.  If I had had surgery, that joy would have either been taken away, or it would have severely restricted it.  I have recenty met people who had their rods removed.

So I have no anger at what was or wasn't done.  In fact, I am extremely grateful that I was able to move and grow and develop into the person I am without having an extra physical or psychological restriction placed on me.

Day of Context - Living in London

As I consider myself a resident of London for a month, I decided to start as I mean to go on and have a real London day just like a resident, which is to say nothing like a London resident, which means how I used to spend my days when I was a London resident about 150 years ago. I used to inhale this city, walking for hours and eating little to make my small salary go further, seeing every play and concert and exhibit I could fit in. And here I am back again. Giddy-up!

There is nothing quite like the first day in a new place, knowing that you did pack exactly the right clothing.  It was cool and windy, but I warmed up walking at my usual brisk pace (it has been called by some a 'thundering' pace; I couldn't possibly comment).  My back was definitely crinkly after yesterday's long flight so I broke up the journey, but was able to do so in iconic London fashion.

Ahh, London.  Cracked and heaving pavements.  Doggy do dotted about.  Rows upon rows of seemingly identical Edwardian terraced houses.  Air that doesn't smell like the air at home.  Traffic that comes at you at breakneck speed.  Twisty roads that slowly become wide busy corridors.  The houses slowly became large blocks of flats.  After an hour or so I spotted an odd building: tall, thin - it looked like an elevator. 

Then I came upon the river and a full view of the Houses of Parliament and I realized my glass elevator was the side view of the London eye. 

I had a welcome cup of full English in a tiny hut perched over the river looking at that view as the sun dodged between clouds and lit up Big Ben so it sparkled. 

I decided to follow the Thames, appropriate as it is a river with scoliosis, a geographic metaphor.

Another chunk of walking time took me to the Globe Theatre where I stopped for coffee overlooking St. Paul's across the river. As always there are so many views of old and new architcture viewing for the same locality of silhouette, and I was happy to see quite a lot of cranes and more architecture on its way up (and stuff that's a bit more interesting than a square block).

I crossed Tower Bridge (do not call make the mistake of calling it London Bridge even though it is probably the most famous bridge in London.  London Bridge was actually removed brick by brick and moved to Arizona, USA.  Don't believe me?  Look it up.  Apology accepted.) and located the Scoliosis SOS clinic not far from the Tower of London.  Hmm, I hope that is not going to be a metaphor in any way, either.

Heading back west along the north side, I took a slight detour to see the newfurbished Leadenhall Market, closed off for renoations the last time I was in this area.  The butcher shope there also has a little cafe out front and a takeout menu with a queue stretching almost all the way doen the lane.  I had walked a good 3 hours by this time (+stops) so stopped for a spot of food. 

As I closed in on the Aldwych and theatreland I heard a clock chime 2pm and I wondered if there might be any Thursday matinees anywhere.  Bam! Right there in front of me was the Aldwych Theatre itself and a sea of white heads bobbing in front of it, which  could only mean 1 thing - a mid-week matinee.  The musical Top Hat was playing http://www.tophatonstage.com/  Yes it had a good seat at half price and there I was, doing what comes naturally!  At intermission I went up to the bar area to look at my programme when I noticed it was raining outside, but as I left the building the sun was out and all London was finishing its working day.

My body was feeling a bit war torn, so took the tube back to Balham.  Oh yeah, I'm back, baby!

Going There and Have the Tee-shirt!

The Scoliosis SOS clinic requests minimum and specific clothing be worn - no clasps, zips, buttons or buckles.  Apparently they get caught in the equipment. Visions of bondage appear in my brain.

And I will be in London in April and May - so that means maximum layers of warm , waterprrof and wind proof.

So while I ponder over this sweater or that coat, the first thing that got plonked into the packing case was my most recent acquisition, courtesy of Martha Carter, artistic leader of the Twisted Outreach Project for Back Care and Scoliosis (TOPS).

Martha's curve is opposite to mine so I almost look straight!

This is the year!

When I found out that it was the progression of my scoliosis causing all the pain, it kicked me out of my depression (more on that another time) and I decided to do whatever I could to deal with it and 'make it better'.  After a year of exploring medications (more on that another time too!) and therapies, I brought it up at our annual AGM, determined to make the issue a priority this year. 

Martin and I have always made January 1 our Annual General Metting, a day to take stock of all aspects of our lives, and to make plans for the new year.  Not resolutions, not dreams, but plans.  We found that if we made actual goals then we might have a chance of making them a reality and not jsut a 'wouldn't it be nice' thing.

We sit down somewhere nice (and warm!) and check off each facet: finance, health, personal, professional.  We also bring up any issues that need to be brought up, which definitely works better at this time than when in the emotional middle of something!  At the AGM we can talk candidly and figure out a compromise if not a solution.

There's something empowering about taking control of something and forming a plan of action.  This year, I decided to make my back health a priority, and to explore what is out there that might help. I had learned a lot of things over the past couple of years or so, but suspected there was a lot more ou there to find out.  Thankfully, our business is flexible and my husband is supportive, so I could allow myself a bit of extra time and attention to the physical me. Having found comfort in other people's experiences, I wanted to share whatever info. I found.  That is one reason for posting this in a blog.  Having an increasingly short memory is another reason for documenting it!

I am now at the first quarter mark of the year, and on the brink of a big adventure.  I call it:

Jenny's Big Bendy Back Adventure!!! 

Which sounds like an illustrated children's book but no matter.  Off I go.

A website I follow (http://www.twistedoutreachproject.com/)  had a posting about a unique non-surgical clinic devoted to scoliosis, located in London, England.  I am no stranger to London, and was in fact planning to go there this summer anyway (more on that in another post - my goodness those future posts are piling up!), so thought I'd do a little research. 

The clinic, "Scoliosis SOS", http://www.scoliosissos.com/ that promotes a one-on-one approach with a combination of physiotherapy (all personnel are registered physiotherapists my own personal London medical mole told me), message therapy, osteopathy, nutrition and more, every day for several hours each day and for 4 weeks in total.  Their stated goal is to reduce once's curve by 10-15%, reduce pain, increase lost height, and provide an exercise plan that I expect will be prescribed for every day for life.  Sounds rigourous.  But also a bit exciting. 

Being several thousand km away, I forwarded my xray and MRI and CT results virtually, then underwent the hour-long assessment meeting by phone, was told I was a good candidate, did I have any more questions and did I wish to book my 4 week visit? 

This caught me a little off-guard.  Having lived in London for several years, I was expecting a maze of bureaucrasy that would require a legal background, a limitless bank account, and the patience of - well, someone very, very patient.  My cynical mind told me that something this easy must be dodgy or in dire need of cash.  I took a bit of time, did a bit more research, and had a conference with my husband. 

The result was why not go for it?  I had made my back a priority issue this year, I could stay with friends to save on cash and add to the pleasure of living in London again. I could make the time, too, as this year was likely to be less busy year than usual with our business.  The cost was not inconsiderable, even without accomodation, but when I worked out how much I would have to pay professional therapists per hour, it was pretty reasonable.

The only 4 week period that could be attached to my current travel plans was April 22-May 17.  Yes, there was a place for me.  I made the deposit, hung up the phone and that was it.  I booked a single flight out for few days before so that I could get over jetlag before starting the clinic., and sourced the recommended clothing options (more on that - ok, ok, in another posting!)

So here I am, two days before my flight.  I just need to pack, kiss my husband good-bye for a few weeks (the only downside to this whole thing) and off I go! 



The 5 stages: #1 Denial and Isolation

I had never thought of myself as a runner until I could no longer run.  I only took it up in middle age and, let's just say I was never built for speed. The running itself was boring interspersed with exhausting and a little painful at times when I was forced to push muyself. But I ran with a running club, initially because it had a 'learn to run' program and thus provided me with community.

Working at home, there have been days when I haven't left the house or said one word out loud.  I get a lot done this way, but I don't get that social interaction that I wanted and needed.  Running a few times with a group was a perfect way to get it.  I would ask a question of someone and get a chance to listen to them talk, ramble even as a distraction from the strenuous tediousness of running.

Then I got injured.  Or what I thought was injured, but really it was my scoliosis starting to protest against the impact of bobbling along on hard surfaces.  As soon as I found out that was the source of the pain and had to come to terms with having a 'condition' or 'disability', I admit sheepishly that my reaction was not unlike that of those suffering real grief or loss.  What?  No way!  Not me.  I've always been able to do whatever I wanted physically (even if I didn't do it particularly well!)

So I lost my sport and thus lost my community, which was the largest stalk of straw on my lumpy camels back and I tipped over into depression. Running buddies, just like golfing buddies or bird watching buddies or basketball buddies, are an activity-specific relationship and when you lose the activity you lose the relationship. 

But feeling part of a social network is imperative. For me, I decided to find walking buddies, and I started to take yoga classes, and I decided I wanted to get back to something I loved but stopped doing many years ago: singing.  I found a choir that suited me  (http://www.ensemble-etoile.com/ - new CD available for purchase!) and started to take private singing lessons through the local community centre, which also had a fitness room I went to once a week.  Dancing was my first and lasting passion, but it hurt a bit too much to do most of the form of swing dancing I did (Ceroc: never heard of it?  Try it!  http://www.ceroc.ca/) , but I went on occasion and danced when I could and then hung out and talked to the others and watched the great dancing.  Martin had a running group that suited him, and I met them for coffee sometimes, or at their prolific social events. 

I was immature enough to still feel the need to compete and be part of an event.  I regreted not having run a race as fast as I could; the few half marathons I ran was always with others at their pace, because it suited me more to have someone to run with than to run that bit faster.  I found a 5km race, a distance I could walk without too much pain.  Martin's group was keen to do it too, and it was such a good feeling to feel as valid a participant as the fastest runner of the group.  And I pushed myself as far as possible physically, which hurt a bit, but it felt great!

famous curves

Having scoliosis, particularly in adolescence, can seem isolating.  But you are not alone!. for one thing, scoliosis is not that rare, about 1 in 10 people have it to some degree. 

And we are in good company too.  A lot of famous people have scoliosis while continuing to do what they do.  People have probably had scoliosis since homo sapiens became upright citizens of the world

Check out this dude:

This skelelton is over 500 years old.  They are the recently discovered bones of King Richard III, who ruled England between 1483 and 1485, during the decades-long war over the throne (Wars of the Roses).

He wasn't on the throne long, but he did make his mark with a lot of good stuff, such as lifting restrictions on books and printing presses so that everyone would have access to books instead of just a few. He was defeated in the Battle of Bosworth, killed by the army of Henry Tudor, who took the throne and became King Henry VII, grandfather to Queen Elizabeth I. 

Richard III was made immortal by Shakespeare who wrote a play about him and put the words "A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!" in his mouth.  I fine that is a little ironic seeing as his skeleton was found under a parking lot!  Shakespeare portrayed King Richard as a mean old hunchback.  Well, he might have been mean (the jury is out on the whole young princes thing) but he was not old (only 32 when he was killed) and his hump was formed from a wicked dose of scoliosis.  He must have been in agony from it, but it was the 10 wounds found on his bones, likely from the battle he died in, that ultimatly killed him.

Quasimodo is another famous hunchback who may have had scoiliosis, but I can't say for sure, because he is fictional.

But plenty of real people do have it, and it might surprise you to know who. For example:

Elizabeth Taylor

Liza Minelli








Not keen on hollywood icons?  Ok, how about music?  We can go from one end of the sector....

Kurt Cobain, of the 90s band Nirvana

....to the other


Cellist Yo Yo Ma

Here's an iconic leader of 20th century contests on the battlefield...


US General Douglas MacArthur

and an iconic leader of 21st century contests on the athletic field:


Fastest man Usain Bolt

and both have/had scoliosis.

It's hard to know who historically had scoliosis becuase we can't see their skeleton, but one guy made it easy for us:

King Tutankahman of Egypt. 

 
Perhaps that's why he was also known as "funky Tut"


Performer Steve Martin

and why he walked like an Egyptian!

Dig those Bangles

there's even a website devoted to celebrities with scoliosis! 
http://www.celebrityscoliosis.com/

What is Scoliosis?

So what is Scoliosis?  My trusty real live paper dictionary defines the word as:

sco·li·o·sis

: an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine

It then goes on to inform me that scoliosis rhymes with diagnosis and halitosis. But I digress.

Everyone’s spine naturally curves a bit. But people with scoliosis have a spine that curves too much, and takes the visual form of  an "S" or "C". 

If you were to look at the back of the average person with scoliosis, you would think that it's a normal spine and there's nothing different about it.  But get them to bend forward or give you a sideways view and you might see the curve or a bump in the back.

Being a bright-eyed, clever person you would have noticed the above definition indicated that scoliosis is a lateral curve in the spine, which means "side-to-side". 

Lateral curvature in itself is no big deal.  But spines with scoliosis are also usually curved front to back, which causes some vertabrae to twist.  It's all about the level of degree really.  Too much and the torso becomes unbalanced.  Perhaps one hip rests higher than the other, which means one foot hits the ground differently than the other.  Perhaps the torquing creates a bit of a hump on one side of the back, where either the spine or the ribs have been moved out of place.  Perhaps one's posture is off kilter, with one shoulder higher or more rounded than the other.  Whatever the external outcome, internally, the imbalance means that certain muscles end up having to work way too much and others not enough.  Muscle pain is the usual outcome, as well as muscle imbalance.  It can also lead to arthritis of the spine ("spondylosis", which also rhymes with diagnosis and halitosis in case you were interested)

Severe cases of scoliosis can cause a bit of real trouble.  As the spine curves, ribs often get pulled or pushed out of position, which means breathing can be affected.  The worst cases see ribs puncturing lungs or the heart squeezed to the point where its can cause a heart attack.

Scoliosis is not at all rare; about 1 in 10 children get it in some form or another, although most of these are not really worth being concerned about.  Adolescence is when it most frequently manifests, perhaps after a growth spurt, so that's the best time to see the birth of scoliosis in its natural habitit. Just like bird watching, some patience and a watchful eye are needed.   

Some cases of scoliosis are the result of an accident or a neuromuscular condition (e.g., cerebral palsy or spina bifida), but the the cold hard truth is that the cause of most cases is completely unknown.  It isn't called ideopathic scoliosis for nothing; no one is idiotic enough to say definitively how it is caused!

Sorry about this ladies, but girls seem to have scoliosis more than boys.  That's not to say boys don't get it too, but girls get it more.  Lucky us.  As scoliosis appears most often after a big growth spurt at puberty, this gender imbalance has lead to speculation that girls get it more because of their maturing sexual organs and increasing hip size.  But there has been no study proving any of that.  Further specuation is that it is congenital (which means it happens in the womb) due to some twist or kink that causes the spine to form itself differently.  Another theory is that the epidural sac that surrounds the spine gets rucked at some point in its early formation and causes the spine to move likewise as it grows.  Again, no proof exists for any of these hypotheses. There has been no link between scoliosis and any bone disease or anything else things that affect infants or children.

One of the strongest beliefs out there that it is genetic and thus hereditary.  Scoliosis certainly does seem to run in families, and particularly in the first degree of relations (mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, etc.) but as yet there has been no specific "scoiliosis" gene identified.  The only things that we know about it for sure is that scoliosis does not result from bad diet or bad posture or bad carrying habits (i.e., backpacks or book bags worn on only one shoulder). 

There are tons of websites defining and describing scoliosis. Here are a few that helped inform me:

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

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/scoliosis

 

http://radiographics.rsna.org/content/30/7/1823.full