Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

THinking of alternative treatments

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • THinking of alternative treatments

    Hi all i am 16 years old and was diagnosed by my chiropractor with idiopathic scoliosis. i have seen a spine specialist who has sent me onto a pediatric scoliosis surgeon. All we are gonna do with the surgeon is just talk to him first, we dont plan on doing the surgery unless i really really really have too. my chiropractor told me about the STRS treatment method. we are looking into to that as a solution also. we are going to ask the surgeon about this method also to see what he knows about it. my chiropractor knows alot about it so we got the jist of it but we are still looking into it all.

    Now i know some of you will prob say that what me and my family are looking into isnt what it seems as i have read in another thread. my personal feeling is that i would rather consider the STRS method than surgery any day but we are still looking into the surgery as a no other choice method. now my doctors hope that my scoliosis is in the end of curving more, wich is what i hope also.

    i was wondering if any one has done the STRS method or is doing it? i just want info good or bad. we know the good and bad of hte surgery already hehe so any info would be nice


    also ps i know there is no cure for scoliosis so you dont need to let me know again. lol

  • #2
    first things first... My dad was a doctor for many many years (until he decided to go to law school) and I can promis you, that a chiropractor is not a medical doctor, they crack your back, but they didn't go thorugh med school. So first off be weary of what they tell you because they are NOT MEDICAL DOCTORS. Also not everybody who goes to a pediatric ortho surgeon gets surgery! If you knew more about what you were saying, you would know this. I have scoliosis, and i wear a back brace, that is not surgery! I understand that your family is into the "alternative" stuff. And that is fine. Just remember that you aren't getting treated by doctors. No medical doctor would ever say to follow the STRS program, because they know it doesn't work. diet, cracking bones, exercies, ect doesn't fix scoliosis, and like my dad always said, you can move a branch of a tree a few times a week if u want, but that won't make it grow the way you want to. I would really truely recomend following what the actual doctor says, because they know the body more than your chiropractor, md's go through 4 years of med school and I believe 3/4 years of internship and residency. Not to mention that they know a little about every specialty due to their rounds in med school. My dad who was a heart doctor, knew a little about every specialty, mostly heart stuff, but he had done some of everything. I'm not trying to push my beliefs on you. But from a medical standpoint this is what I know. and that is that no md would ever say that a chiropractor could fix scoliosis. Plus what kind of nut thinks that diet could have anything to do with wheter or not you have scoliosis, that is rediculous. I wouls seriously reasearch what your chiropractor has said, but from a med standpoint, just to see the other side.
    ♥SARAH♥

    Comment


    • #3
      you know no offense but you seem pretty hostile about my question. you did not seem to really answer my question but question what i do.

      just so you knwo my orthopedist actually told me to keep going to a chiropractor for treatment because he said he actually agreed with what my chiropractor was doing to try to help. also did i say i was gonna shrug off what my orthopedist said? no!

      and also didnt i say i ALREADY KNOW THERE IS NO FIX!!

      Comment


      • #4
        sorry if i seemed hostile, my dad had just beaten into my head well that thing abou chiropractors I am sorry if i seemed well hostile in any way what so ever
        ♥SARAH♥

        Comment


        • #5
          well for one i actually feel better with the chiropractic care. i have noticed my right shoulder that was much lower than my left is not level again so i feel somthing is at least helping.

          one thing that strikes me in your post is that it sounded like you think chiropractors are people that just go to some place for a few months and then start a practice and start cracking backs. i can tell you that they spend years in school like other doctors and have to take a yearly reevaluation from the state to keep their license. it is actually more strict than normal doctors it seems to me.

          another reason why i am listening to my chiropractor is that all my "normal" doctors didnt find my scoliosos even after i have been buggin them about back pain for 3 years and had my school nurse find that i had scoliosis last year. my doctor didnt do any thing. didnt even use that scoliometer thing when its my states policy to do that. so so far the chiropractor is kicking ass in my view.

          Comment


          • #6
            Who's Hostile?

            George...
            You said Sarah was hotile...I beg to differ with you, but you are VERY hostile! Have you come to accept the fact that you have Scoliosis and will always have Scoliosis? I don't think anyone can get on with their lives until they accept the facts.
            You commented something about surgeons only want to do surgery, because that's what they do.....gotta differ with you there! I asked my daughter's orthopedic surgeon to do surgery on her and she refused! Face it, your life is what you make out of it. When given lemons...make lemonade! Make sure you are doing everything in your power to make your life the best it can be whether that is with a chiropractor, orthopedic surgeon or both. Just please don't knock what others are doing for their backs, they feel like you do, they are doing their best with what they have.
            P.S. Hope I didn't sound to hostile!

            Comment


            • #7
              I'm not siding with George or anything. But like George, I will try anything before resorting to surgery. I dont think anybody here is hostile. We are just expressing our points of view and that is a good thing. I am thankful for this forum that we can do that. Scoliosis and living with it is very hard. Finding the right treatment is harder. What works for 1 person might not work for another. We've seen varied results for people who underwent surgery, bracing, etc. Let's continue our input through this site. Don't be afraid to express your opinions. We are actually helping each other.

              Comment


              • #8
                ok i am sorry for being hostile but i took offense to when she said how only nuts would suggest the strs method and how i should only listen to my orthopedist. i respect my chiropractor because he is willing to go to the end of the earth to help me and i mean that seriously. so far my orthpedist has seemed vaugly interested. as i said my family is looking into alternatives instead of surgery because of how barbaric it still is in my view and how once its done you cant undo it.

                me personally i would rather live with a curved spine and back pain than have a fused spine and rods in it. now both my chiropractor think that my spine might stabalise wich would mean there would be no need for surgery at all but if it does keep curving then we would look at our options and then decide from there but mostlikley would stay away from surgery unless it was really really needed, most likely we would do bracing or try the strs method.

                now i dont look at that method as a way to make my spine strait like they seem to stait. i am looking at it as a way to stabalize my spine thats all.

                Comment


                • #9
                  the surgery first off is not barbaric, they do it freaking endoscopically for goodness sakes. how is that barbaric? And they don't fuse your entire spine, just small parts. My ortho suggsted that i may need surgery some day, I told him i do cheer, and he said that the surgery wouldn't effect my ability to tumble and stuff like that. the only way that can stabalize your spine is if oyu are still growing. And the medical (meaning doctors) way of treating that is with a back brace. or you going to a pediatric ortho or a regular ortho. your curve will only stabalize if it chooses to, people wear back braces, still end up needing surgery, because the back just won't stabalize. And these are real doctors treating these people. if your doc doesn't give a care, get a new one. Because this one obviously has no clue! But really trust me, doctors have a lot more restrictions ect on them than prob any other specialty. I think you are actually quite uneducated as to what doctors have to go through, just because you are so used to this homeopathic stuff.
                  ♥SARAH♥

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    alright i will concede that you know more about doctors. i already know that my back will only stabalise if it wants and i know that they dont fuse the whole spine but in my case it would be most of my freakin spine if they had to do it.

                    now i still dont like the tone you are taking to the way i want to try to take care of this issue. didnt mary say that not to knock what other people are doing for their backs? also i dont like how you seem to think the only thing i am used to is homeopathic stuff.


                    also to point out i have not really been given and answer to my question but more told what i am doing is the wrong sort of thing

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Endoscopically

                      Hi Sarah

                      Just making you aware not all fusions are done endoscopically. It depends on many factors especially such as were the curve is in the spine and degrees of curvature, For example in Australia very few surgeries are done endoscopically and when I had my surgery in 1999 it was not even an option because My curve (68 degrees and 58 degrees) was solid and it was simply an 10 vertebrae holding operation, with only a 2 degree correction gained (basically we had run out of time and options I was at the end of my growth and had worn a back brace for 9 of my 13 years- at the time and the brace wasn't doing anything, I ended up with the same degrees of curvature that I started). I'm sorry George, I can't answer your question, the STRS treatment is still in the "experimental" or infancy stages in Australia and the only thigns I have learn about it are from the net.

                      Alison

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        George....
                        Okay, I was being the mean one the other day in my response, but you did sound hostile. Sorry to say! I'm glad you haven't given up on any options. Are you completely happy with your orthopedic doctor? You sound like you really like and trust your chiropractor but maybe not your orth. My daughter is now seeing her third orthopedic doctor.....first one she hated....second one was wonderful, but not associated with a hospital that could do surgery if she needed it in the future...and so far, so good witht he third ortho. She is the one who refuses to do surgery at this time. Please keep looking until you find someone, anyone, who you feel comfortable with.
                        We are all in this together...let's not fight. We all need the support and advice that is offered on this forum.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          George, let me know if you find out more about strs.

                          Lily

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            i trust both my chiropractor and my ortho completely its just that he sees this stuff all the time cause i go to a spine institute kind of place in my town so i dont get the same treatment with my chiro but its not like he is mean or doesnt take me seriously.

                            the main reason he refered me to a surgeon to talk to is because my curves are technically bad enough that i could get surgery but both he and my chiro said that sense i am still growing surgery wouldnt be needed soon if i did need it.

                            Me and my chiro wanna keep surgery as my super last option. me personally i would rather live with a curved back and pain than have surgery. now if my spine started to interfer with my breathing and organs then i would jump on surgery

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              well an update on my back even though this is supposed to be for the strs stuff hehe

                              well after 1 and a half months of knowing i had scoliosis my chiropractor took another set of x rays, he is doing them every month to 2 months because he finds its easier to track the progression, and well my back is pretty much in the same place so no surprise there but in my mid back my curve actaully seems a little less, he still needs to do the degree thing so i will know how my back is tomorrow.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X