spinecor

[gerbo]

"stable", that's not bad melissa, and maybe this will help you to worry a little bit less for a while. (stop worrying, ha, sometimes they just haven't got a clue these doctors )

and the normal, active life bit,..., thats so important!!

keep going!

gerbo

[mpj]

We are back from Montreal.

Hi,

Madeline and I are back from Montreal. Thanks for all the tips and advice prior to our visit. It went well. Dr. Rivard said that she had a 21 degree curve out of the brace and was down to a 9 in the brace. He was very please by this, so we are optimistic too. Madeline is doing pretty well too. She is having some problems with one snap pushing into her hip and sometimes the shoulder straps seem tight, but otherwise she is fine. I think she just needs to get used to it. She does not like to take it off, because then she has to get used to it again when she puts it on. She even wore it to part of her gymnatics practice yesterday!

We go back on Jan. 18.

Thanks again for all you help and encouragement.

Sincerely,

Sarah

[gerbo]

sounds good to me, very encouraging

[Celia]

Okay - so we did it. My daughter (age 12 risser 0) was fitted by Dr Deutchman in New York with Spinecor. Her out of brace x-ray showed top curve of 28.5 and bottom of 22.6 (a small progression since her initial x-ray in September which was at 25). After Spinecor brace - top 23.3 bottom 18.1. Not a huge correction - nobody was doing cartwheels but the Dr was (mildly) pleased. Again, I was hoping for much more but am glad there was some correction to see. Dr Deutchman's office does vestibular testing - not sure if others do this as well. At first I thought it was inconsequential, but I must say that I did see that one eye reacted differently than the other when tested. The relationship between the back and eyes/ears seems to make some sense. He gave her various physical therapy exercies to do so we are going ahead with that too. All in all an exhausting experience. I continue to struggle to maintain a positive attitude - even though on the inside I'm still unsure. Catch me in 2-3 years - I hope to be a little more decisive then!!

It wouldn't hurt to pay dr Rivard and dr Coillard a visit and make sure the brace is being properly fitted, maybe get better correction and then continue seeing Dr. Deutchman who is closer to you. What do the rest of you think As for vestibular testing....I think it's strictly a chiropractic thing and it's not done in the Montreal office.

[Celia]

Sarah,

Absolutely WONDERFUL news!!!!


Melissa,

What can I say ? I wish the news were better but then no change is good news too ((((hugs))))

[gerbo]

What do the rest of you think

as far as i represent "the rest"; considering how important it is to get this absolutely right from the beginning; i'd travel to montreal to confirm that treatment was as good as possible.

re vestibular testing; seems rather inconsequential to me, so if it is free, > no harm done, if it costs a lot; forget it and use the money saved to travel first class to montreal!

[gerbo]

I read the article and the threads at the end. I wouldn't say it clarified anything... but rather confuses the matter more by lumping the two disciplines into the same category.

so, in what way would the 2 disciplines differ in trying to improve flexibility in the spine (if that is what they would be aiming to do)

(our "favourite" chiropracter was from the mctimoney school, and it was very obvious that her technique was never going to do anything to the spine (but when you are desperate, you try anything/ anybody giving "hope"). We still refer to her jokingly as "the witch" with her chrystals under the bed and spirit trapping contraptions in the window...... )

[MATJESNIC]

Sarah,

When was your appt? We must have just missed each other. I'm happy your daughter did so well.


Everyone, Nicole being stable is good news. There is little hope for her to improve her curves. The most they hope for is a 35. But they mostly are striving for stability. If she stays where she is, they believe she can lead a normal life without surgery. I am happy with the appt. I will remain positive and worry-free (about scoli anyway) until May.

Melissa

[gerbo]

Everyone, Nicole being stable is good news

agree!!!!!

My "not bad" was a bit understated, (getting a bit like the british), really means "very good".

I am very happy for you

gerbo

[structural75]

Celia,

Although some chiros might do vestibular testing, it's the domain of neurologists(M.D.s). You may want to consult a neurology specialist before following others advice to discredit its importance. (the cerebellum is the portion of our brain responsible for balance and coordination... the affect of scoliosis on this portion of the brain is quite direct.... as the eyes and ears attempt to re-orient a body with severely asymmetrical muscular tonus. there's a very reciprical relationship there.)

This is anything but "inconsequential"... This is a vital part of infantile/childhood development. Worth the time for many w/ scoliosis! In fact its nice to hear it mentioned given that most other 'preferable' options involve static, forceful corrections. It's difficult to force the body to do something that it doesn't want to, or can't do.

structural

[MATJESNIC]

Structural,

I'm confused. When was I talking about vestibular testing?

Gerbo,
thanks for the words of encouragement. I didn't think you were being negative.

Celia,

I guess you thought we were hoping for better news. We weren't. Unfortunately, in our situation, no increase is the best news we can hope for. I guess we could have hoped the curve went down, but for some reason, that never entered our minds. The doctors aren't optimistic about that happening, so we aren't even thinking like that.

[structural75]

Gerbo,

I'll try to clarify in short.

Osteopathy goes well beyond just trying to create flexibility in the spine, in fact I wouldn't say that its intent is to even do that. It is to restore motion/mobility when joints become fixated. But moreso than that, it seeks to identify and address the 'obstacles' that may be laying in the way of the bodies ability to grow/function properly, whether those obst. be joint fixations, soft tissue fibrosity/scarring, visceral restrictions, etc. (of course only when those 'obstacles are capable of being addressed manually. ie - boney abnormalities/fusions/etc obviously impose limitations in that regard.) Possiblities are infinite as to what these obstacles may be.... could be muscoloskeletal, visceral restrictions/malformation during embryological development, cranial, vascular or neurologic...?

I've had a number of treatments by a number of different Osteopaths... NONE of them ever used a high velocity thrust of any kind (but they certainly could have). If they manipulated a joint, it was 'unwound' using the receptivity of the tissue surrounding it... far more effective and lasting. This is one way they can go about effectively "stretching" the spine with intelligence and precision, and no force. However it takes far more skill to do it that way than it does to 'crack' or thrust bones(no offense to anyone out there, but anybody can be taught to perform those blunt techniques without possessing much skill at all.)

As for chiro... it is predominately, if not soley, 'adjusting' joints to alleviate supposed nerve impingent. There may be various other techniques/methods used by each - nutrition, kinesiology, neuroemotional technique... ut I'll refrain from commenting on those aspects. The premise is certainly questionable, as only about 20% - 25% of chronic or acute pain comes from nerve impingments at the spine.

My best advice would be to read up on them seperately from reliable sources and formulate your own opinions based on that. Or better yet, experience it first-hand (Osteopathy).

Gerbo, You live in Europe, There are some of the best DOs in the world in your neck of the woods. Dr. Jean-Pierre Barral, Dr. Jean Mercier, Dr, Didier Pratt, Peter Schwind, PhD, Christoph Sommer... Or look for the Munich Group in Germany, you could speak to them yourselves to find out more firsthand, They would be one of my first choices anywhere in the world, non-surgically speaking, as an adjunct or first try.

regards,
structural

[structural75]

Melissa - sorry for the confusion... I meant to direct that towards Celia.

structural

[christine2]

Excellent news Melissa!!

The doctors in Montreal are excellent because of you we did go straight to them and I am forever greatful.

We saw a scoliosis specialist here in Ct last week. He was very good but does not know anything about the spinecor brace. He said to keep doing what I was doing that the rigid braces were to emotionally tramatic for kids especially when they are very young and have to be braced for a very long time. I appreciated him not trying to persuade me to change braces.

Any how he wants us to have an MRI which means sedation for the 1 hour procedure. I not comfortable with sedation of any kind. I spoke to Dr. Rivard he said he only does MRI s with left curves.

We decided to wait till March when we go back to Montrel to decide if we will have the procedure.

Happy Holidays everyone I can not believe there is only 11 days till Christmas!!

Christine

[christine2]

Sarah

How old is Madeline again.

Excellent news about your trip to Montreal. It took my daughter just a day or to to be completly comfortable in brace. About a month ago she had a small spot from the thigh band that was bothering her so I used a panty liner (the kind with the wings) and stuck it to the band. It worked great!!



Christine