I was diagnosed with severe scoliosis at the age of 12, I thought it was the end of the world and I'd be alone forever. Which was not the case whatsoever. Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral (lateral = toward, from or side to side) curvature of the spine. There are 2 different types of curves, there’s C curve and there’s S curve, which is the shape of your spine from a rear view of the skeleton. A non scoliosis spine is a 0 - 10 degrees and a rotation under 5.I remember researching scoliosis as it's not something very commonly talked about, yet 1 of 10 girls have the condition and 1 out of 70 boys do. Most cases people are born with scoliosis and as they grow older the curve gets bigger and worse. I got diagnosed with an S curve, I have 3 curves the biggest one being 54 degrees with a rotation of 10, that means my spine isn’t only curved but physically twisted inside of me. Due to a severe curve I was placed in a Boston brace to slow its growth. I was told to wear it 23 hours of the day, I was only able to take it off for a shower everyday and physiotherapy .Due to having to wear the brace for many hours I had to quit gymnastics, dance and wasn't able to participate in my grade 7 gym class. Which was hard, sports were everything to me. They were something that connected me to others and made me feel a part of something more than myself. Yet even simple tasks like tying my shoes, picking up a pencil off the floor and even placing my arms by my side became extremely difficult. I'd ask others for help but many times people thought I was lazy and told me to do it myself.They didn't know it was nearly impossible for me. Scoliosis is a physical health condition, but no one ever talks about how it could affect someone’s mental health. It affects every person very differently. For me personally it caused a lot of anxiety, it was this feeling of being alone. I never knew anyone who was going through what I was going through. It also made me very conscious of my left side, due to my middle curve being the biggest of the three, they over corrected my third curve to hopefully help the second curve even out a bit. While it was helping me it made me self conscious. One side of my body was like it used to be and the other side was the shape of an hourglass. I’d do everything to hide this, but I now wish I embraced who I was with my scoli brace. I wish I knew there are many teens that are going through the same thing I was.
Therefore I now spread awareness about it. Catching it early on is the key to prevention. Olivia H To learn more about scoliosis : https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/scoliosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350716
15 Comments
Lina
12/2/2022 01:43:33 pm
I learned a lot about scoliosis and how it can affect someone's life. I know some people with scoliosis but I never really thought about them actually suffering from it, thanks for opening my eyes!
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paige
12/2/2022 01:50:35 pm
I really liked this blog! It's really cool hearing about your personal journey and how you've grown since you've been diagnosed. Thank you !
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michael
12/2/2022 01:56:19 pm
very nicely written. i hope in the future people will develop a better sense of empathy and instead of ignoring those who need help, extend themselves to their aid.
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Clare
12/2/2022 02:08:29 pm
Scoliosis is a very issue and can be a very serious issue. I'm sorry you had to go through that. The pain can be unimagineable. Being able to move forward even with the pain shows strength.
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Luis
12/2/2022 02:08:52 pm
I liked a lot your blog bcuse it was not only very well written, but also very informative for me becase I had never known someone struggle with scoliosis as you did. I think you aldo did a very good job by remarking how a phisical injury can also hurt at a mental level.
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Aimée
12/2/2022 02:11:43 pm
I am impressed. How strong of you to be so open and to share your life story. I think it is really brave of you. It is so nice, that I could learn more new things through your blog. And I am convinced that you can be really proud of yourself, especially for how have been handling your situation.
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eyad
12/2/2022 02:13:50 pm
It was sad to hear your diagnosis but it's admirable to hear about how you dealt with it. great blog
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Lucas
12/2/2022 02:15:02 pm
It's really cool how you linked a website to dive deeper into scoliosis! I can only really relate to the physiotherapy part, because I went to physio for months for my back.
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aleyna
12/2/2022 02:19:03 pm
this is a really well written blog. thank you for being so vulnerable and speaking about how you have struggled with scoliosis because it raises alot of awareness
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Anooj
12/2/2022 02:19:12 pm
This was really insightful! As sad as as it is, I love how you don’t let it get you down. I learned a lot such as how it could affect your mental health and how you have a wear a brace. You also explained everything so well, which made the blog easy to read
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Amelia Holifield
12/2/2022 02:21:28 pm
I really enjoyed your blog. I think what your doing with opening up about scoliosis is super brave and something amazing that you should be so proud of yourself for doing. Thank you for opening up about this, explaining and educating us on scoliosis.
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Konstantin
12/2/2022 02:23:10 pm
It was very interesting to read about Scoliosis. A good friend of me has many problems with his back. He is a very good soccer player and he is out for the entire season and its not even sure if he can play next season again. Unfortunately I'm in Canada right now so I cant support him as well as I want to. Well we talk a lot and I recogneized at some points that he is not doing pretty well.
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Melina
12/2/2022 02:24:57 pm
Thank you for sharing your experience, not many people can be successful when it comes to hard situations, but you were successful in it and you should really be proud of it.
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Gurleen
12/6/2022 12:34:35 pm
Thank you for sharing your experience with scoliosis. It certainly should be talked about more.
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izzy
9/28/2023 01:54:26 pm
This was very nicely written. this has opened my eyes and helped me learn more about scoliosis and how it can affect people's lives. You are so strong for sharing this emotional journey with me. You should be proud!
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