Yesterday, on the TV show “The Doctors,” they included a segment on scoliosis. At first I was thrilled that a major show was finally covering scoli, but when I realized how they were covering it, the rage began to set in. By the end of the piece, I literally felt nauseous and thought I might have to run to the bathroom to throw-up. Seriously.
Take a look for yourself: Clip 1, Clip 2
Interestingly, if you watch closely, you’ll see that this young woman’s lumbar curve progressed 20-30 degrees from the time they taped the first segment to the time the surgery takes place. See how the doctor talks about her X-rays in each segment? This is not a natural progression of scoliosis for a person her age. I’d wager it happened because she was doing nothing to manage her scoli.
After watching the footage, I furiously posted this comment to the show’s Facebook page:
I’m saddened, and quite frankly disgusted, with how this show covered scoliosis in this beautiful young woman’s case. I have scoliosis, am a former Radio City Rockette, am a Pilates instructor, and am author who has devoted my career to helping those with scoliosis. There are always non-surgical solutions to improve the lives of those with scoliosis. This woman complains of pain. I guarantee that she will still have pain after the surgery, both physical and emotional. Surgery doesn’t take the scoliosis out of her, emotionally or physically. I can’t believe that the only hope this show offered people with scoliosis was in essence a Home Depot tool commercial – you physically showed her body being sawed apart and drilled into. I pray you will be more mindful of showing other ways to deal with scoliosis in the future, besides just surgery, because there are many.
I invite you to take a deep dive into the articles on movement and scoliosis contained on the Spiral Spine website. Read first-hand accounts from others with scoliosis, and learn how they’re managing their scoliosis with movement, structural integration, Pilates, Schroth, and more. Hear from those who’ve undergone spinal fusion surgeries, and learn about their experiences, both before and after. Educate yourself with products designed to give you the knowledge you need to take the best care of your body.
If you’ve already had spinal surgery, please know you still need to take care of your body. The surgery doesn’t “cure” you of scoli. You still have to keep your body strong and mobile, but you must train wisely.
While you can clearly see where I stand on fusions, I nevertheless have many clients that come to me post-fusion surgery because they are in pain, something they thought surgery would fix, but didn’t. Surgeries often beget other surgeries because the patient isn’t told they must still move their body wisely. I love on these fusion clients, and I teach them to love their own bodies while showing them that movement heals.
#IAmScoliBeautiful #ScoliosisWarrior #BentButNeverBroken