Hi Folks,
I am 51, do not know what my present curve degree is or what it was when they stuck me in a Milwaukee brace at age 15 until 17. My father was in the USNavy so I received the low caliber of medical care provided to the military by the federal government. This meant that I did not have one primary doctor, but several and over the course of my treatment, doctors would rotate out (move to another military hospital). So there was little consistency and NO personal care or attention to the grievous psychological impact of the brace experience for teenagers.
After I got the brace off, I did a lot of physical activity through my 20s and early 30s with no problems or pain: I ran daily, lifted weights, backpacked, bicycled and did aerobics. All that exercising started to wind down in my 30s to the point where I was fairly sendentary by my late 40s. I began having pain doing simple things like walking, gardening or just sitting sometimes. The pain was bad enough sometimes and frequent enough that I began to do research into adult scoliosis surgery as well as other non-surgical therapies. I did a lot of research on the web and about that time stumbled upon a masseuse that does "cranial sacral" massage which has helped immensely. I had never heard of "cranial sacral" and thought it sounded terribly new agey, but I also decided I had nothing to loose and something to possibly gain. Frankly, I still think it sounds new agey, but it works for me. The messeuse recommended a local yoga teacher who specialized in scoliosis and other back problems. In addition to the generic yoga classes I was taking at the fitness center where I work, I called this woman, Elise Browning Miller, for a private session. She assessed me and provided some poses for me to add to my routine and advised me on poses regularly taught in yoga classes that i either needed to avoid or to modify to benefit my situation. This woman has written some articles, does seminars and teaches classes and retreats locally (I'm in the San Francisco bay area) as well as out of state. Her website is: http://www.ebmyoga.com
Recently a new friend suggested that I explore a class that she had taken called a "balance" class. This is a difficult class to explain, but it has helped so much I want to shout about it! It is taught by a woman named Jean Couch who's son has scoliosis. Her website is: http://www.balancecenter.com.
Whether you try any of the things that have helped me or not, my point in posting is to encourage you to be open to alternative therapies. My pain has lessened significantly, I am no longer considering surgery and have met some wonderful knowledgeable and caring people along the way. Thanks for listening.
I am 51, do not know what my present curve degree is or what it was when they stuck me in a Milwaukee brace at age 15 until 17. My father was in the USNavy so I received the low caliber of medical care provided to the military by the federal government. This meant that I did not have one primary doctor, but several and over the course of my treatment, doctors would rotate out (move to another military hospital). So there was little consistency and NO personal care or attention to the grievous psychological impact of the brace experience for teenagers.
After I got the brace off, I did a lot of physical activity through my 20s and early 30s with no problems or pain: I ran daily, lifted weights, backpacked, bicycled and did aerobics. All that exercising started to wind down in my 30s to the point where I was fairly sendentary by my late 40s. I began having pain doing simple things like walking, gardening or just sitting sometimes. The pain was bad enough sometimes and frequent enough that I began to do research into adult scoliosis surgery as well as other non-surgical therapies. I did a lot of research on the web and about that time stumbled upon a masseuse that does "cranial sacral" massage which has helped immensely. I had never heard of "cranial sacral" and thought it sounded terribly new agey, but I also decided I had nothing to loose and something to possibly gain. Frankly, I still think it sounds new agey, but it works for me. The messeuse recommended a local yoga teacher who specialized in scoliosis and other back problems. In addition to the generic yoga classes I was taking at the fitness center where I work, I called this woman, Elise Browning Miller, for a private session. She assessed me and provided some poses for me to add to my routine and advised me on poses regularly taught in yoga classes that i either needed to avoid or to modify to benefit my situation. This woman has written some articles, does seminars and teaches classes and retreats locally (I'm in the San Francisco bay area) as well as out of state. Her website is: http://www.ebmyoga.com
Recently a new friend suggested that I explore a class that she had taken called a "balance" class. This is a difficult class to explain, but it has helped so much I want to shout about it! It is taught by a woman named Jean Couch who's son has scoliosis. Her website is: http://www.balancecenter.com.
Whether you try any of the things that have helped me or not, my point in posting is to encourage you to be open to alternative therapies. My pain has lessened significantly, I am no longer considering surgery and have met some wonderful knowledgeable and caring people along the way. Thanks for listening.
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