At the start of August in 2016, I was trying on dresses for my cousin's wedding in November. As I tried on countless silk gowns, my mom began to stare at me in confusion rather than in admiration. "Stand straight," she stated, and so I did. However, what I believed to be straight was not so; when I looked in the mirror, my shoulders leaned dramatically towards the left while my hips went to the right. At 14 years old, I was already uncomfortable in my own body, and now I had scoliosis to make matters worse. Moreover, I had been a ballet dancer for 11 years and was to begin practice for my high school's dance team in a few weeks. I didn't want scoliosis to stop me from doing what I loved, yet in a way I was excited for what was to come with my new diagnosis.
On August 10th, my mom took me to an renowned orthopedic surgeon who had earned a myriad of awards for his work. When we arrived at his office, I had an x-ray taken of my spine. He took a look at the scans, a glimpse at my back, and sent me home. He confirmed my mom's diagnosis; with a curve in my lower back, I did indeed have idiopathic scoliosis. To my surprise, he stated that because the angle of my curvature was a mild 21 degrees, I could go on with my life and see him again in 6 months for a follow up x-ray to see if the curve had progressed. In fact, my growth plates showed that I was practically done growing, so there was a very low chance of the curve getting worse at all. Although this may seem like good news to most people, my mom and I left the office unsatisfied. This so-called amazing doctor just told me to stay home and wait for my condition to worsen. Yearning for a solution and a second opinion, my mom called other orthopedic doctors in the area and scheduled an appointment for the next day.
On August 11th, I visited a doctor recommended by a family friend who also had scoliosis. She was diagnosed at a much younger age and wore a back brace to prevent her spine from further curving. According to this doctor, however, I would not need a brace. The doctor again confirmed that I had idiopathic scoliosis with a lumbar curve, but because my curve was so minimal and I was already 14, there was a slim chance that I would grow and the curve would progress. The emotional consequences of a back brace were not worth the mere possibility of my condition getting worse, so I was sent home with a referral for a physical therapist. Although the physical therapy would not cure the scoliosis, it would help me improve my balance and posture.
When I began my freshman year later that month, the school nurse called each student to the nurse's office for a mandatory scoliosis check. I walked in expecting a letter to my parents and a recommendation to see a doctor for my scoliosis, yet the nurse checked my back and sent me back to class empty handed. Two doctors had diagnosed me with scoliosis just a few days before, yet it was undetected by this school nurse and the ones from years past. When I had gone to my pediatrician for my yearly checkup just a few months before, he hadn't caught it either. Despite how small my curve measured, the scoliosis was evident in my posture, but no one trained to see it had seen it. It was my mom who diagnosed me.
In the months that followed, my mom was especially proactive in the fight against my scoliosis. We drove an hour away every Friday after school for my physical therapy sessions, visited a chiropractor, went to several other doctors, and my mom walked me through physical therapy every day with the wooden stall bar my dad built at home. Admittedly, I was not persistent in researching alternative treatment options and new doctors; part of me wanted to follow the doctors' advice and just wait and see if my back would get worse. The other part of me, however, was horrified by what I saw in the mirror and scared for my future. Would I be able to dance again? Would I have to get surgery one day? Was I a financial burden on my family? Meanwhile, my mom was constantly online working to help me and my scoliosis despite how small my curve was. In all her research, she found Align Clinic, a clinic in San Mateo, California that specialized in prosthetics and the WCR Brace. This brace, unlike traditional braces which worked only to prevent progression of the curve, was customized to each patient to correct the curve. We sent pictures of my back to the orthotists at the clinic to make sure I was a good candidate, and we got a prescription from my pediatrician for the brace. My mom booked a flight for our family up to California that Thanksgiving Break, and the orthotists at Align Clinic would expedite the process of creating and fitting my brace to fit our schedule. Finally, we had found someone willing to offer us a legitimate treatment, someone who believed that any curve, regardless of its severity, could be reversed.
That November, my family and I flew out to San Mateo to get my WCR Brace. They generated a 3D scan of my body with an iPad, and we left the clinic for the day to explore San Francisco. In addition, I was measured for shoe orthotics because the imbalance in my body was partially due to a leg length discrepancy. The next day, I came back to the clinic and tried on a plastic mold of my body with holes in areas that needed to expand and indentations in placed that needed to be pushed in to revert my curve. The orthotists molded the brace so it was comfortable for me, taught me how to tighten it, and showed me how to take care of it. I was to wear my brace at all times, only taking it off to shower or dance. I left Align Clinic with my brace on, went back to the hotel, and slept in preparation for my appointment for an in-brace x-ray the next day. Although it was not painful, initially wearing my brace to sleep was extremely uncomfortable because I felt so restricted. Nonetheless, I made it through the night, and the discomfort faded as time progressed. I occasionally experienced aches and soreness in my back from the pressure of the indented areas, but I was able to communicate that to the orthotists at Align Clinic and they adjusted my brace accordingly. That day, I had in-brace and out-of-brace x-rays taken at Stanford Children's Hospital to help visualize the corrections that the brace was making. We returned to Align Clinic with the x-rays, and the difference the brace made was astounding. The brace had reduced my curve more than ten degrees, so much so that I would barely be considered within the range of scoliosis at all! I was ecstatic; adjustments to the brace were made as necessary, we scheduled a follow-up appointment, and we went home that day. Until the next appointment, I was supposed to wear my brace every day and continue physical therapy; after all, the brace wouldn't work if I didn't. For the next few months, I was determined to fix my curve, wearing the brace at all times and doing my back exercises every day after school.
In June of 2018, I returned to Align Clinic because I had grown and needed a new brace to effectively correct my curve. I had intended to wear my brace and do my Schroth exercises consistently, but as my schedule got busier with dance practice, club meetings, and homework, my intentions didn't always coincide with reality. Nonetheless, I made a commitment to myself to wear the brace as instructed this time around. My family and I flew to San Mateo as we had done before, and I went through almost the same process I had gone through last time to get my new brace. This time, I was physically cast instead of with the iPad, but everything else was the same as before. The orthotists told me that this was the last brace I would ever need, and with a new brace on and the old one in hand, I flew home.
It is now January of 2019, and I'm still wearing the brace I got in June. My curve has improved, and I think I'm just about done growing, so I'll probably be able to stop wearing my brace sometime soon. I would like to thank Grant Wood of the Align Clinic, Larry Hixon of Motion Physical Therapy, and my mom for helping me overcome what I was once told was impossible. I hope my story has helped you in some way, and I hope you'll visit Back to Blog again. Good luck in your scoliosis journey; feel free to ask any questions you may have or see the other pages of this website for more information.
On August 10th, my mom took me to an renowned orthopedic surgeon who had earned a myriad of awards for his work. When we arrived at his office, I had an x-ray taken of my spine. He took a look at the scans, a glimpse at my back, and sent me home. He confirmed my mom's diagnosis; with a curve in my lower back, I did indeed have idiopathic scoliosis. To my surprise, he stated that because the angle of my curvature was a mild 21 degrees, I could go on with my life and see him again in 6 months for a follow up x-ray to see if the curve had progressed. In fact, my growth plates showed that I was practically done growing, so there was a very low chance of the curve getting worse at all. Although this may seem like good news to most people, my mom and I left the office unsatisfied. This so-called amazing doctor just told me to stay home and wait for my condition to worsen. Yearning for a solution and a second opinion, my mom called other orthopedic doctors in the area and scheduled an appointment for the next day.
On August 11th, I visited a doctor recommended by a family friend who also had scoliosis. She was diagnosed at a much younger age and wore a back brace to prevent her spine from further curving. According to this doctor, however, I would not need a brace. The doctor again confirmed that I had idiopathic scoliosis with a lumbar curve, but because my curve was so minimal and I was already 14, there was a slim chance that I would grow and the curve would progress. The emotional consequences of a back brace were not worth the mere possibility of my condition getting worse, so I was sent home with a referral for a physical therapist. Although the physical therapy would not cure the scoliosis, it would help me improve my balance and posture.
When I began my freshman year later that month, the school nurse called each student to the nurse's office for a mandatory scoliosis check. I walked in expecting a letter to my parents and a recommendation to see a doctor for my scoliosis, yet the nurse checked my back and sent me back to class empty handed. Two doctors had diagnosed me with scoliosis just a few days before, yet it was undetected by this school nurse and the ones from years past. When I had gone to my pediatrician for my yearly checkup just a few months before, he hadn't caught it either. Despite how small my curve measured, the scoliosis was evident in my posture, but no one trained to see it had seen it. It was my mom who diagnosed me.
In the months that followed, my mom was especially proactive in the fight against my scoliosis. We drove an hour away every Friday after school for my physical therapy sessions, visited a chiropractor, went to several other doctors, and my mom walked me through physical therapy every day with the wooden stall bar my dad built at home. Admittedly, I was not persistent in researching alternative treatment options and new doctors; part of me wanted to follow the doctors' advice and just wait and see if my back would get worse. The other part of me, however, was horrified by what I saw in the mirror and scared for my future. Would I be able to dance again? Would I have to get surgery one day? Was I a financial burden on my family? Meanwhile, my mom was constantly online working to help me and my scoliosis despite how small my curve was. In all her research, she found Align Clinic, a clinic in San Mateo, California that specialized in prosthetics and the WCR Brace. This brace, unlike traditional braces which worked only to prevent progression of the curve, was customized to each patient to correct the curve. We sent pictures of my back to the orthotists at the clinic to make sure I was a good candidate, and we got a prescription from my pediatrician for the brace. My mom booked a flight for our family up to California that Thanksgiving Break, and the orthotists at Align Clinic would expedite the process of creating and fitting my brace to fit our schedule. Finally, we had found someone willing to offer us a legitimate treatment, someone who believed that any curve, regardless of its severity, could be reversed.
That November, my family and I flew out to San Mateo to get my WCR Brace. They generated a 3D scan of my body with an iPad, and we left the clinic for the day to explore San Francisco. In addition, I was measured for shoe orthotics because the imbalance in my body was partially due to a leg length discrepancy. The next day, I came back to the clinic and tried on a plastic mold of my body with holes in areas that needed to expand and indentations in placed that needed to be pushed in to revert my curve. The orthotists molded the brace so it was comfortable for me, taught me how to tighten it, and showed me how to take care of it. I was to wear my brace at all times, only taking it off to shower or dance. I left Align Clinic with my brace on, went back to the hotel, and slept in preparation for my appointment for an in-brace x-ray the next day. Although it was not painful, initially wearing my brace to sleep was extremely uncomfortable because I felt so restricted. Nonetheless, I made it through the night, and the discomfort faded as time progressed. I occasionally experienced aches and soreness in my back from the pressure of the indented areas, but I was able to communicate that to the orthotists at Align Clinic and they adjusted my brace accordingly. That day, I had in-brace and out-of-brace x-rays taken at Stanford Children's Hospital to help visualize the corrections that the brace was making. We returned to Align Clinic with the x-rays, and the difference the brace made was astounding. The brace had reduced my curve more than ten degrees, so much so that I would barely be considered within the range of scoliosis at all! I was ecstatic; adjustments to the brace were made as necessary, we scheduled a follow-up appointment, and we went home that day. Until the next appointment, I was supposed to wear my brace every day and continue physical therapy; after all, the brace wouldn't work if I didn't. For the next few months, I was determined to fix my curve, wearing the brace at all times and doing my back exercises every day after school.
In June of 2018, I returned to Align Clinic because I had grown and needed a new brace to effectively correct my curve. I had intended to wear my brace and do my Schroth exercises consistently, but as my schedule got busier with dance practice, club meetings, and homework, my intentions didn't always coincide with reality. Nonetheless, I made a commitment to myself to wear the brace as instructed this time around. My family and I flew to San Mateo as we had done before, and I went through almost the same process I had gone through last time to get my new brace. This time, I was physically cast instead of with the iPad, but everything else was the same as before. The orthotists told me that this was the last brace I would ever need, and with a new brace on and the old one in hand, I flew home.
It is now January of 2019, and I'm still wearing the brace I got in June. My curve has improved, and I think I'm just about done growing, so I'll probably be able to stop wearing my brace sometime soon. I would like to thank Grant Wood of the Align Clinic, Larry Hixon of Motion Physical Therapy, and my mom for helping me overcome what I was once told was impossible. I hope my story has helped you in some way, and I hope you'll visit Back to Blog again. Good luck in your scoliosis journey; feel free to ask any questions you may have or see the other pages of this website for more information.