A few years back I signed up on Google to receive email alerts anytime an article was posted on the internet with the word ‘scoliosis’ in it so I could get a true look at what was happening in the scoliosis world. My inbox has been flooded with daily articles with titles like:
- Scoliosis Management Market Players Attention On More Modern Advertising Techniques to Pressure Income
- Global Scoliosis Management Expect High Growth Opportunities by 2024
- Scoliosis Management Market has been Estimated to be Valued at $2,460.4 Million in 2018 and is Expected to Expand at a CAGR of 3.6% Over the Forecast Period (2018-2028)
- Scoliosis Management Market Expected to Remain High in North America During 2018-2026
Scoliosis isn’t an epidemic that is all of a sudden flooding doctors’ offices with new cases. The rates of scoliosis have remained pretty stable over the last bit of time. So, how can companies be expecting a growth in income over the next few years?
What costs a lot of money in the scoliosis industry? Bracing. And surgery. These companies are PUSHING bracing and surgery because that’s where the money is.
Big medical companies are somehow monetarily incentivizing surgeons to not only prescribe certain braces but also perform more surgeries. To add to it, surgeons are also incentivized to use certain companies’ scoliosis surgical products in those surgeries.
One must then question, are your interests really being looked out for? Or are theirs?
I’m not saying all surgeons are out just to get your money, you simply need to keep this thought at the forefront of your mind when considering bracing or surgery.
You must own your scoliosis. You cannot accept, or allow for that matter, a surgeon to own your scoliosis. Do not do surgery without consulting at least a handful of different surgeons. I can’t tell you how many people have told me that they “love their surgeon” and that’s why they let him do their surgery. So, you fell in love with a guy after three 15-minute encounters? So, you willingly gave your body to him to do with it as he pleased? (OK, I may be over-dramatizing the situation, but you get my point).
Do your research. Get multiple opinions. Schedule sessions from other people in the scoliosis industry besides surgeons, like Pilates instructors, Schroth practitioners, and massage therapists to name a few. Watch the Starting Point Series if you need ideas of other types of practitioners to try out. See what they have to say about your scoliosis.
If you’ve tried alternative therapies and you simply aren’t content and have decided that surgery is absolutely the only other alternative, then research that surgeon. Does that surgeon own part of a distribution company or have patents on scoliosis hardware used in surgery? Does he get kickbacks from companies if he uses some of their products in surgery? I know you don’t want to think that your “really nice surgeon” is doing any of this without telling you, but I can no longer deny all these articles flooding my inbox.
I don’t want parents making choices for their kids that cannot be undone. I don’t want adults making choices that they’ll deeply regret later in life. I see cases like this in my Pilates studio all the time, and I can’t unmake those choices for them.
I recently created four proactive checklists for different populations of people in the scoliosis industry. If you have a desire to own your scoliosis or help your child or client with scoli, but don’t know to, I’ve got you covered. Start here.
It’s never too late to start owning your scoliosis.
Do your research before making life-altering decisions please.
Laura Ann Smith says
June 13, 2019 at 10:55 amI would have to be a death’s door to even consider surgery. Besides, it is my understanding chiropractors will not touch a patient who has had surgery as it is irreversible. having said that, I will do whatever is necessary outside of surgery to keep this scourge from getting worse.