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Scoliosis and sport
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Does anyone here have any experience of scoliosis and if there treatment outcomes affect training. My daughter, 14, has just been diagnosed. She's always been active, a decent club swimmer, likes to run, just started road cycling regularly rather than occasionally and is keen to do triathlons again. We're still waiting to see the specialist we have been referred to so I'm jumping the gun here quite a bit but we're keen to look at the options in advance and interested in any experiences people have had rather than just the official line. The main treatments available in the UK if the condition continues to progress as it has been doing is surgery provided by the NHS or we can look at intensive Schroth method based physio which we can pay for ourselves. Both would likely mean time off work and school etc which is why we're having a good look at all the possible outcomes in advance.

I appreciate each case is unique to the individual and but does anyone here have experience of these treatments and their sporting life afterwards? Things we can consider in treatmnet decisions with the medical specialists which we might not have considered I guess. Any issues following successful surgery limiting future sport for instance such as limited movement range or the daily requirements to keep up schroth method exercises limiting other training apart from time? TIA.
Last edited by: Ian A: Jun 28, 17 6:37
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Re: Scoliosis and sport [Ian A] [ In reply to ]
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Hi Ian-our now-17 year old daughter was diagnosed a bit earlier than yours but the curvature had reached its "worst" point when she got to be about 14-it has largely stopped since she hit puberty and ceased growing.
Of course everyone is different,but we saw a very good specialist here in CA,and were told that surgery is usually only considered when the curvature gets very extreme.Our daughter is at about 28% -you can see it a bit-but we know several kids who did have the surgery(curvature was more like 50% or so for them).Of the kids who had surgery it is a pretty big deal-one of them is still pretty immobile and it was months ago.I do not know what her return to sport will be like.
I can only offer you the experience of my daughter,who has always been active(basketball,lacrosse).We were told that being very active was good for her condition.She wears orthotics because she has some imbalances due to the scoliosis,but otherwise is not limited at all,and continues to play in high school.I would imagine swimming would be great for it.FWIW turns out my husband had(has?) it ,was diagnosed as a teen,and went on to swim through college.
I don't know how "severe" your daughter's condition is so can't comment,but wanted to share ours.I read about the Schroth method but it wasn't recommended to us-we were just told that staying active was the key.Hope this is of some help.
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Re: Scoliosis and sport [Ian A] [ In reply to ]
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My wife had an operation to repair her scoliosis years ago. You can PM me your e-mail and she can provide you with a lot of information.
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Re: Scoliosis and sport [Ian A] [ In reply to ]
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My daughter is now 14 but was diagnosed when she was 10 (which is very young). She had a 25-30% curve upper and lower (s shaped spine) sports were not and have never been a problem. Her doc has never put any restrictions on her. She wore a brace (Boston brace) from age 10 to age 13 for 18-20 hours a day. At 13 her age slowed down enough so she only wore it at night. At her next appt she will probably be told she doesn't have to wear it anymore. Since she is not really growing and her curve has not gotten worse a brace wouldn't really do anything. Since your daughter is 14 a brace may not be an option, and if the curve isn't at least 40% surgery wouldn't probably be an option either (accordingly no to our doc). A brace does not "fix" the curve. It will always be curved unless its surgically fixed. Also, if they haven't already they will make sure it's not something more unusual causing it like cancer and something literally pushing the spine in one direction. That may be able to be "fixed" but assuming it's "normal" scoliosis it will just be there and it shouldn't cause too much trouble unless it's a very serious curve, which frankly you'd probably know already.

The bottom line is that unless it's a serious curve she should be just fine doing sports and all the activities she's been doing. Honestly, she's probably been doing the sports with a curved spine for a while before she was diagnosed.

Hop this helps!
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Re: Scoliosis and sport [Ian A] [ In reply to ]
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Ian A wrote:
Does anyone here have any experience of scoliosis and if there treatment outcomes affect training. My daughter, 14, has just been diagnosed. She's always been active, a decent club swimmer, likes to run, just started road cycling regularly rather than occasionally and is keen to do triathlons again. We're still waiting to see the specialist we have been referred to so I'm jumping the gun here quite a bit but we're keen to look at the options in advance and interested in any experiences people have had rather than just the official line. The main treatments available in the UK if the condition continues to progress as it has been doing is surgery provided by the NHS or we can look at intensive Schroth method based physio which we can pay for ourselves. Both would likely mean time off work and school etc which is why we're having a good look at all the possible outcomes in advance.

I appreciate each case is unique to the individual and but does anyone here have experience of these treatments and their sporting life afterwards? Things we can consider in treatmnet decisions with the medical specialists which we might not have considered I guess. Any issues following successful surgery limiting future sport for instance such as limited movement range or the daily requirements to keep up schroth method exercises limiting other training apart from time? TIA.

Had it for all of my more or less athletic live (I am at around 25%).

Key was/is to take care of your spine.
Meaning:
Back and hip stabilization/strengthening exercises EVERY DAY and plenty of swimming...

If I do not swim or do my back/hip specific exercises for a week. I will know.

No limit on training otherwise (except available time).


Have not had any major problems for over 30 years.
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Re: Scoliosis and sport [Ian A] [ In reply to ]
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Like other said: unless her curvature has a Cobb's angle higher than 20degrees, it is best to go for a conservative treatment. Being active and doing alot of sports will be the main goal here, but ofcourse she should include some specific stretching of the concave side and strengthen the convex side. But your doctor and physiotherapist should be able to guide you trough the process without any problem, after all it is a quite common issue.

I don't see why it should hamper her performance. In the contrary, if she keeps to her strengthening regimen and looks after herself, she'll probably have a stronger core than most athletes out there.

Just my (physiotherapystudent) two cents ;)
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Re: Scoliosis and sport [Ian A] [ In reply to ]
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We have a family friend whose teenage daughter underwent corrective surgery recently (had a very high angle). Looking at the situation from the outside, it seems the recovery process continues to be pretty difficult and painful. She is athletic, swims competitively and has continued to do so following the surgery. Flip turns are difficult for her due to the post-op limited spinal mobility, but she's proving to be amazingly adaptive. She may play volleyball, too (not sure). Long story short, she's tough and doesn't appear to be letting this keep her down.
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Re: Scoliosis and sport [Ian A] [ In reply to ]
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Check out Steve Caballero:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Caballero

"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"
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Re: Scoliosis and sport [gotsand] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for these replies, they're very helpful and reassuring. We'll certainly arrange for the physio option ourselves if if it's not provided by the NHS to help her to keep her spine healthy and hopefully it won't be so severe that she needs further treatment. Funnily enough my daughter asked me about flip turns in the pool when she read about the rods used in corrective surgery. There is another girl at her swimming club with the same condition but who has a low cob angle and hasn't had surgery or any other corrective measures so couldn't tell her about surgery. I'm sure there'll be ways around it.
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Re: Scoliosis and sport [Fusion] [ In reply to ]
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Fusion wrote:
she should include some specific stretching of the concave side and strengthen the convex side.

this observation is so important and helpful.

in my case, after decades, the transverse abs on the convex side stopped functioning properly. This led to all sorts of mischief in the hip.

Like Windschatten said, you can reclaim function, but it takes commitment.
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