Scoliogold?

[orchid]

I am trying to find out about Scoliogold, has anyone ever heard of it? According to the Scoliosis SOS clinic in the UK, it's the only nonsurgical treatment that is scientifically proven to help correct scoliosis (that's what it says on the letter they sent my friend).

I can't find any scientific studies, or medical documents, or anything to back up this claim. No-one seems to have heard of it anywhere. I would like to know who invented this treatment method, because it can't be anyone at the Scoliosis SOS clinic - the only medically trained person they have is one doctor who got her basic medical degree in 2004 according to the General Medical Council (though the clinic claim she is a "world renowned spinal expert"), and all the physiotherapists there are relatively newly qualified too. The Maude family, who run the clinic, have no medical qualifications at all.

The clinic used to say they teach the Schroth Method and they got a lot of publicity because it was supposed to be the first Schroth Clinic in the English speaking world (though the American clinics were open already and the German clinics all speak English) but for some reason it has changed to Scoliogold now - I am wondering if this is because they didn't offer bracing, which is an integral part of Schroth therapy? I know Dr Weiss seemed very unhappy with the clinic.

It really doesn't sound good to me, I can't find any info at all and the clinic isn't even registered with the Healthcare Commission so there doesn't appear to be any regulatory body overseeing what they are claiming to do.

[ecnw]

This intrigued me, so I went to the website - www.scoliosissos.com
You've heard they saying too good to be true. The first pictures you see are of people doing exercises, which I agree can help with pain, stretching out the muscles and can train you on better posture, I know pilates made me feel good. But look at the result photos carefully. First, a lot of people are wearing the same outfit (how many times are you photographed wearing the same thing). Also, I can slump my shoulders and lean to the side to make my back look different, then stand straight shouldered, giving a nice clean line.
In pilates I was taught to position my hip and shoulders to actually be better aligned, practicing in front of a mirror I notice the difference.
I'm not saying that this won't help people, I fully believe in trying alternatives to surgery and medicine, but I'm also realistic. I do more research first.
Emily

[LindaRacine]

I agree... at least half of the pictures are totally faked.

--Linda

[orchid]

Thanks for your replies, that is very interesting!!!!

My friend who has kyphosis wrote to Scoliosis SOS asking for more information as he's still in pain following his spinal fusion surgery.

They wrote back telling him that "every day you delay treatment, your spinal condition and symptoms are likely to worsen. This is because you are compounding incorrect posture. You can halt this inevitable progression by starting a ScolioGold treatment programme as soon as possible".

My friend is quite angry as his kyphosis isn't going to worsen, it's fused solid. He had given them all the details including the fact that he has two rods and a whole bunch of screws and a long fusion. To say that it is inevitable that it will progress is completely wrong!!!!

The letter went on to say that they have made an appointment for him, giving a date and time when they expected him to attend their clinic, and saying that if this date wasn't convenient, he had to call them as soon as possible to rearrange! He felt that this was really pushy because he only asked them for info about their treatment, not asked to make an appointment. He said that he felt like they were manipulating him to attend.

The appointment was to be with one of their "consultants". Naturally he assumed that this consultant would be someone like the consultant spinal surgeon that he was treated by on the NHS, someone with many years of experience and training. However, he called to enquire as to who the "consultant" he'd be seeing was, and it turned out that it was just one of the clinic's physios! Here in the UK, doctors working in the National Health Service can only call themselves "consultants" after many, many years of training and experience. The info on the Scoliosis SOS webpages shows that their physios are all quite newly-trained, and that they came to Scoliosis SOS fresh out of university with no prior experience.

We tried to find out which regulatory body the clinic was registered with, but it doesn't seem to be registered with or regulated by anyone! According to the Healthcare Commission, the Scoliosis SOS clinic doesn't have any doctors at all, otherwise it would legally be obliged to register with them. The Healthcare Commission seem to think that they only have physios. However a lot of stuff on the web claims that they have a Dr Olga Gronowska working for them, and she IS a qualified doctor. I think anyone who goes to this clinic should definitely ask questions about who is treating them, and what qualifications their "consultant" has!

And we still can't find any evidence anywhere that backs up their claim that "ScolioGold is the only non-surgical treatment in the world that is scientifically proven to correct hyper-kyphosis and similar spinal conditions". My friend has emailed them asking for sources of information and evidence, but they have simply ignored his requests. His surgeon has never heard of it! If anyone can point us in the direction of such evidence, that would be really interesting.

I think anyone should think long and hard before paying thousands of pounds to a clinic which is unregulated and which writes such misleading things in its letters.

[ksobecky]

I also saw this site...it seems real to me...but what do I know...please if anyone out there has more personal experiences with scoliogold or other similar alternative treatments, tell us how successful or not it was.

[txmarinemom]

I also saw this site...it seems real to me...but what do I know...please if anyone out there has more personal experiences with scoliogold or other similar alternative treatments, tell us how successful or not it was.

ksobecky,

I'm curious ... why you'd even consider this "program" after what you've seen written above?

You've got scoliosis veterans who believe the pictures are faked, and you have people (from within the NHS system) attesting to the false claims and credentials of this place.

What more do you need to know about it?

[orchid]

There's no evidence at all that I can find that Scoliogold will work longterm, let alone that the clinic are claiming that it's the only scientifically proven nonsurgical treatment for scoliosis. The clinic has only been open for a couple of years and is run by people with no medical qualifications, and there don't appear to have been any previous trials or peer-reviewed, independent research papers about Scoliogold in existence! And it's not regulated by a proper healthcare body, so there is no-one checking on what they're doing! Scary stuff.

I reckon that anyone who seriously wants to go to that clinic knowing all of this is probably either mad or is working for the clinic in disguise I could be wrong, please let me know if anyone does find the relevant scientific papers. Neither my NHS consultant nor my friend's has ever heard of it.

[scoliomom]

INteresting to me all the talk of "faked" pictures.. The proof is in the xray. My daughter wears the Cheneau brace and has beed doing Schroth for only 4 months. Recent xrays showed inproved "balance" in her s cruves and both curves had not only NOT increased from the October xrays (47' & 48') but new measures were 42' and 45'....

THey don't generally suggest that curves decrease only hope they don't increase so that is our goal.. We're impressed so far...

We went to Spinal Dynamics in WISC.

[BETall]

INteresting to me all the talk of "faked" pictures.. The proof is in the xray. My daughter wears the Cheneau brace and has beed doing Schroth for only 4 months. Recent xrays showed inproved "balance" in her s cruves and both curves had not only NOT increased from the October xrays (47' & 48') but new measures were 42' and 45'....

THey don't generally suggest that curves decrease only hope they don't increase so that is our goal.. We're impressed so far...

We went to Spinal Dynamics in WISC.

I am so proud of you!

[mariaf]

INteresting to me all the talk of "faked" pictures.. The proof is in the xray. My daughter wears the Cheneau brace and has beed doing Schroth for only 4 months. Recent xrays showed inproved "balance" in her s cruves and both curves had not only NOT increased from the October xrays (47' & 48') but new measures were 42' and 45'....

THey don't generally suggest that curves decrease only hope they don't increase so that is our goal.. We're impressed so far...

We went to Spinal Dynamics in WISC.

Hi Scoliomom,

I truly am happy that your daughter does not seem to be progressing.

However, like many others, I am skeptical at the claims made by some of these clinics.

Also, keep in mind that 5 degrees is within margin of error, and while it is always good to see numbers go down, sometimes a small difference can be attributed to how the x-ray is read and by whom, how the person is standing, etc. That is why they say "5 degrees margin of error". I am NOT trying to rain on your parade, really, just pointing out that this is not proof of success due to any of these exercise programs.

You mention that your daughter wears the Cheneau brace - could it be that bracing is holding her curves? I don't know whether or not these exercise programs offered at Scroth and other clinics can help with regard to things like posture, pain, etc. - but there is no scientific proof that ANY non-surgical method can stop or correct scoliosis - especially cases as severe as some of those shown on the above website! That's all I am saying.

I wish your daughter all the best,

[scoliomom]

Hi Bea, Thanks for the note!!

regarding : You mention that your daughter wears the Cheneau brace - could it be that bracing is holding her curves? I don't know whether or not these exercise programs offered at Scroth and other clinics can help with regard to things like posture, pain, etc.

Of course the braces holds her so she doesn't progress but only to a point. Her out of brace x-rays, unlike many with other braces, are taken only when she has been out of the brace for 24-48 hours, giving her body time to be more "normal" and have gravity do its thing...

She has NO pain and the drs xraying her usually chocked once they see her curves, since it is only minimally noticeable in her posture.

We're doing our thing, avoiding unnecessary surgery... Everyone is entitled to do their own "thing". I have lived with scoliosis my whole life. As long as my daughter has no pain / severed issues we'll keep plugging along with what is working

helen

[Pooka1]

We're doing our thing, avoiding unnecessary surgery...

This just struck me as odd... everyone to my knowledge is avoiding unnecessary surgery. I am presently avoiding unnecessary surgery in the case of my one daughter. I embraced necessary surgery in the case of my other daughter.

The problem comes in when folks avoid seemingly necessary surgery.

I'm glad your daughter is doing well.

[scoliomom]

This just struck me as odd... everyone to my knowledge is avoiding unnecessary surgery. I am presently avoiding unnecessary surgery in the case of my one daughter. I embraced necessary surgery in the case of my other daughter.

The problem comes in when folks avoid seemingly necessary surgery.

I'm glad your daughter is doing well.

I have no need or desire to banter when / why surgical procedures should be done..
My responses here are purely informational- as someone asked about a system that I have experience with and knowledge of. We all make choices we believe to be best for our kids.

[mariaf]

Of course, Helen and again, I wish your daughter all the best.

Nobody here is questioning another's choice of treatment for their child.

Rather, we DO often question the ever-increasing claims made on this site - many of them are downright "ads" clearly soliciting business - by clinics and other alternative practitioners who offer NO proof they can treat or correct scoliosis. No papers published on any crediblt site, no endorsements by NSF or SRS or any other scoliosis group, etc., Just claims that THEY themselves make about THEIR treatment - a treatment which often costs a lot of money, and I know that some of us are just concerned about desparate parents being taken in by these unproven claims. That's all.

[RugbyLaura]

What really gets my goat about Scoliosis SOS and their "miraculous" treatment is the amount of publicity they are able generate within the UK.

They have a very prominent publicist on board - I don't think they're paying him as he would be v expensive. I understand that this publicist has a daughter who had surgery for scoliosis some years ago. It appears that his misplaced feelings of guilt are driving this thing. I may be being too kind, perhaps he does have one eye on the balance sheet...

It makes me mad that anytime there's anything written about scoliosis in the UK it's always about Scoliosos SOS or some rubbish seeking sympathy for 'brave' disabled kids. I'm frequently sent newspaper cuttings by well meaning friends who are then shocked when I don't rush off to Scoliosis SOS, cheque book in hand.

I have written to both the publicist concerned and the Healthcare Commission, but have had no reply to date.

Helen, as I undertand it, Scoliosis SOS originally started as a provider of Schroth Therapy. For some reason they seem to have dropped any mention of Schroth. And they don't brace. Reading between the lines (actually have seen some evidence, but forget where) it seems that Scoliosis SOS have been prevented from using the Schroth name. Schroth is something else entirely, particulary when combined with bracing - an altogether more reputable form of treatment!