60 degree thoracic scoliosis and pain free

[figgy]

Hello,

just wanted to share my story. at 18 i was diagnosed with 60* thoracic scoliosis. i had experienced back pain since i was 12 or 13, but being from a hearty stock irish family, was always told to stop moaning and stand up straight. my parents saw me in a bikini on holiday when i was 18 and were alarmed at my shape. after my x-ray i was given 2 options - surgery or to "suck it up". in my mind surgery was not an answer and at that point the pain had been going on for so long that i had got used to it. however at the age of 21 i started a job which required alot of heavy lifting and my pain levels went through the roof - about a 7 or 8 every day. the doctor suggested ibuprofen...my rotation had worsened to the point where my ribs were bruised from rubbing against my pelvic bone.

i moved from ireland to new zealand when i was 22 and discovered Bowen therapy. After 1 session of Bowen I was pain free. And have been ever since. I am now 23. I have had only 3 Bowen sessions. It has changed my life in unprecedented ways. It doesnt work for everyone, everyone is different, but if my results are anything to go by, it is a therapy well worth trying. IMG_1291.jpgIMG_2806.jpg

[LindaRacine]

Hi Figgy...

I love posts like this. Thanks very much. We see patients like you from time-to-time, but it's rare that someone like yourself actually comes to the forums.

I seriously doubt that the therapy you're doing will ever correct your curve, but it doesn't matter if you're pain free and don't care about the assymetry. Hope it keeps working!

By the way, it would be great, if you have your original xrays and any recent ones, to post them online.

Regards,
Linda

[Pooka1]

Hey Figgy,

Very good that you were able to address the pain. PT might be better than even surgery for certain patients for pain relief.

I echo Linda in hoping you post your radiographs. It looks like you may not have progressed much in the last 5 years even with a 60* curve. We have a few other folks her who were above 50* and hung there, not progressing, against the paradigm. That's why I think it might be interesting if you haven't progressed either.

Thanks for posting.

[Pooka1]

By the way, who exactly diagnosed you with a 60* thoracic scoliosis? Was it an orthopedic surgeon or was it something else?

[figgy]

i was diagnosed by an orthopedic surgeon. at the time he told me that if my curve progressed surgery would have to happen. i go home again in december and can hopefully get another x-ray to check if it has progressed. of course this type of therapy cant "cure" the curvature but my rotation has definately improved as has my posture. so heres hoping that i havent progressed.

just wondering if anyone else has tried bowen or intends to?

[Pooka1]

i was diagnosed by an orthopedic surgeon. at the time he told me that if my curve progressed surgery would have to happen. i go home again in december and can hopefully get another x-ray to check if it has progressed. of course this type of therapy cant "cure" the curvature but my rotation has definately improved as has my posture. so heres hoping that i havent progressed.

just wondering if anyone else has tried bowen or intends to?

I think you will find testimonials of PT holding curves against progression at least in the short term. And of course you have to hope you don't get so ill that you can't keep up the PT.

[figgy]

Im not sure exactly what PT is? is it an american term for physiotherpapy, or a broad term for everything from massage to rolfing etc? anyway, bowen therapy is a form of myofascial release, but very very gentle and slow and takes you to a deep state of relaxation. it is not deep tissue and it causes no pain. in fact after my first session i felt a bit like id been conned, because it felt so light. i cant imagine there are many contraindications to this type of therapy compared to the deeper fascial manipulations like rolfing.

[Pooka1]

Im not sure exactly what PT is? is it an american term for physiotherpapy, or a broad term for everything from massage to rolfing etc? anyway, bowen therapy is a form of myofascial release, but very very gentle and slow and takes you to a deep state of relaxation. it is not deep tissue and it causes no pain. in fact after my first session i felt a bit like id been conned, because it felt so light. i cant imagine there are many contraindications to this type of therapy compared to the deeper fascial manipulations like rolfing.

Yes PT is physiotherapy. But I see Bowen is massage.

How is light massage supposed to help people with large curves?

Bowen seems to be a type of chiro and there are several hits on Quackwatch:

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http://www.quackwatch.org/01Quackery...mentindex.html

Neuro-Structural Integration Technique (Bowen Therapy)

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http://www.quackwatch.org/04Consumer...nonrecorg.html

Questionable "Research" Entities

Bowen Research & Training Institute

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http://www.quackwatch.org/01Quackery...onary/mdb.html

Bowen Technique (Bowen therapeutic technique, Bowen Therapy): Form of bodywork and vibrational healing (see "vibrational medicine") originated by Australian engineer Tom Bowen (d. 1982) in the early 1950s, developed by Oswald Rentsch (an osteopath) and Elaine Rentsch (who holds a diploma in Bach flower therapy) in Australia, and introduced in the United States in 1990. Its theory posits chi ("universal life energy") and human "energy vortexes." ("Bowen System" and "Bowen Technique" may be synonymous.)

[figgy]

I'm not entirely sure how it works - its not chiro, but a form of remedial massage. all I know is that before I was in significant pain on a daily basis and now I am in no pain regardless of my physical activities. My Bowen therapist was also a qualified physiotherapist and had a tremendous knowledge of anatomy and scoliosis.

I classify my results from 1 hour long session of this therapy as nothing short of a miracle.

I recommend an open mind.

[Pooka1]

I'm not entirely sure how it works - its not chiro, but a form of remedial massage. all I know is that before I was in significant pain on a daily basis and now I am in no pain regardless of my physical activities. My Bowen therapist was also a qualified physiotherapist and had a tremendous knowledge of anatomy and scoliosis.

I classify my results from 1 hour long session of this therapy as nothing short of a miracle.

I recommend an open mind.

Well, you are pain free now and I certainly wouldn't want to argue with that. :-)

[mariaf]

I think that is the key, Sharon. I don't believe PT, massage or similar treatment will correct a large curve, but I do believe (as we see proof here) that it is possible it can relieve pain.

You make a very good point, however, about folks needing to be physically able to continue the program (i.e., not becoming ill).

[Pooka1]

Well I think she can continue this even when she is ill because it is just light massage. I had assumed it was PT which requires her to do something other than lie there on a table. So hopefully she will have uninterrupted pain relief even when sick.

Probably any massage will help muscle pain, no need to layer on "energy vortexes" and chi (see below). I doubt it can possibly help nerve pain which we can guess she doesn't have because the massage takes away the pain. But because light massage has no hope of stopping progression, if her curve progresses, it may stop working for pain.

Energy vortexes is clearly nonsense and Chi is listed in the periodic table of irrational nonsense (Element 41, Symbol "QI", column 5, row 5 in the Credulous block)...

http://mockreligion.files.wordpress....l-nonsense.png

[figgy]

I have never heard of any of that energy vortex stuff! I think if i had i would have been very skeptical indeed. No, my therapist took a very anatomical view of the whole thing and explained a little about how he would manipulate the fascia surrounding my muscles to encourage them to loosen and strengthen.

Also, I should have made this clear - I have had 3 sessions of bowen, but the second 2 were just because I like it, for relaxation. the differences that were implemented after the first session 18 months ago have remained without me needing to have a repeat session. Can i just say that again - I had a 1 hour session of bowen a year and a half ago, and the changes that occurred within my body are still in place.

[Pooka1]

I have never heard of any of that energy vortex stuff! I think if i had i would have been very skeptical indeed. No, my therapist took a very anatomical view of the whole thing and explained a little about how he would manipulate the fascia surrounding my muscles to encourage them to loosen and strengthen.

Also, I should have made this clear - I have had 3 sessions of bowen, but the second 2 were just because I like it, for relaxation. the differences that were implemented after the first session 18 months ago have remained without me needing to have a repeat session. Can i just say that again - I had a 1 hour session of bowen a year and a half ago, and the changes that occurred within my body are still in place.

Do you have a long curve with almost no rotation?

Have they confirmed your curve is structural?

[TAMZTOM]

Hello,

just wanted to share my story. at 18 i was diagnosed with 60* thoracic scoliosis. i had experienced back pain since i was 12 or 13, but being from a hearty stock irish family, was always told to stop moaning and stand up straight. my parents saw me in a bikini on holiday when i was 18 and were alarmed at my shape. after my x-ray i was given 2 options - surgery or to "suck it up". in my mind surgery was not an answer and at that point the pain had been going on for so long that i had got used to it. however at the age of 21 i started a job which required alot of heavy lifting and my pain levels went through the roof - about a 7 or 8 every day. the doctor suggested ibuprofen...my rotation had worsened to the point where my ribs were bruised from rubbing against my pelvic bone.

i moved from ireland to new zealand when i was 22 and discovered Bowen therapy. After 1 session of Bowen I was pain free. And have been ever since. I am now 23. I have had only 3 Bowen sessions. It has changed my life in unprecedented ways. It doesnt work for everyone, everyone is different, but if my results are anything to go by, it is a therapy well worth trying. [ATTACH]1296[/ATTACH][ATTACH]1297[/ATTACH]

Hi Figgy
Thanks for the information. My 10 yr old has scoliosis, exercising since diagnosis has improved the condition.
Details on my daughter here: http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...race-mentality
We had one month of intensive Schroth last July; during the last half hour every day, she had a light massage, so light, she'd fall asleep. Every day! Loved it.
I've never heard of Bowen before but will look it up today. Martha Hawes also promotes the use of massage and other manipulative techniques--she corrected her curves as an adult.
Interesting that you have observed a significant improvement in your rotation. Do you have numbers on the improvement? It'll also be interesting to hear if that has had an effect on your curvature; releasing tension that caused rotation COULD result in lasting curve correction. Simple mechanics. I don't know why others are denying this possibility; seems obvious to me. E.g., Forest Gump took off his calipers and RAN.
Regards
Tom