Reflection Paper

Many people all around the world may come across symptoms of having scoliosis. Mostly girls from ages 10 to 16 get a curve of about 10 degrees. Scoliosis is the curvature of the spine and mostly occurs in adolescent years. Scoliosis may be identified during a physical examination by bending forward to see if your back is completely straight and if your shoulder blades are balanced. During my research process i found out that a lot of people at my school have scoliosis.

On November of 2016, I had the x-ray test. My dad and I waited about 30 minutes for the results. The doctor walked in and told me how much my spine has curved. My spine was curved like an “s”. He told me I would have to wear a brace until my growth spurt has stopped. I would have to wear this brace twenty three hours everyday for the next two to three years. Every hour that I have without my brace would be only for showers. This was a start of a more difficult

After a quick x-ray I wait for the doctor for what seems like hours, when she finally enters the room she looks in my eyes and says the exact word I was praying not to hear... “unfortunately”. My heart drops, she continues, “The x-rays showed a significant change in your curve.” I sit there, staring at the doctor, pale faced and in shock. When you have scoliosis, your spinal curve is measured in degrees, at around a 20 degree curve you would be

Then lo and behold my surgery occurred on July 22, 2015. It was a grueling 6-hour long surgery. I spent a week in the hospital and I was in tremendous pain for weeks afterwards. I was not able to enjoy my summer like everyone else, as I was stuck in bed for the entire time. But guess what. My back was straight. It was over. No more brace. No more looking crooked and feeling self-conscious about it. My mind was finally free.

The spine is one of the most important structures in the human body. The spine is located in the dorsal cavity and consists of 24 bones, called vertebrae. These vertebrae play a crucial role in protected the body’s command center, the spinal cord. But what happens when a disorder prevents the spinal column from functioning correctly? Scoliosis is a musculoskeletal disorder that causes abnormal lateral curvature of the spine and it effects millions of people in the US per year. I have chosen this disorder because I am aspiring to become a chiropractor and scoliosis is a typical condition that chiropractors help treat on a daily basis.

Regardless of two wrong surgeries, I was back to living each day pain free. The struggles I had overcome throughout the whole year shaped me into the person I am today. Likewise, I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have a surgeon and physical therapists who dedicated their own personal time to help me recover. Nonetheless, their inspiration is what helped me decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I knew from the moment I met all of them, physical therapy was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Last fall, I went for a checkup appointment because I was complaining to my mom of the amount of pain I was in. My doctor kept telling me that “scoliosis doesn’t hurt”. He took my x-rays and my curves had increased tremendously. We had to schedule the appointment I would have to have my spinal fusion surgery. I remember sitting in the room and the only two things I was thinking about was if I would ever be able to cheer again, and how excited I was to finally be relieved from all the

In the summer between my sophomore and junior year, I had started to feel agonizing pain in my lower back. After seeing a specialist and going over the MRI, I was diagnosed with Lumbosacral Disc Disorder with Radiculopathy. Overall, the MRI revealed lumbar degeneration and congenital abnormalities of the lumbar spine with spondylolisthesis and instability. The problem causes low back pain with left leg weakness and numbness. The congenital abnormality of my spine was there since birth which is very rare; however, I do not have the most severe case compared to other people diagnosed with the same problem.

doctors decided to do a spine MRI to discover his spine was abnormally long. This was a 15-day

“Thoracic curve, 37 degrees, lumbar curve, 18 degrees.” This is the type of language I’m used to hearing now because I have scoliosis. I was diagnosed when I was fourteen, but with multiple doctors saying the curves wouldn’t get worse, I continued doing competitive dance. When I got an x-ray a year later, the curves had worsened. A doctor told me I had to quit dance; otherwise, I would end up needing surgery, which might not be beneficial in the long run. I quit dance to avoid surgery, and when my family finally found a doctor who could help correct scoliosis, I started treatment.

The sun hadn’t even come up before I was under the knife. The date was August 23rd, 2013, and I was at Shriner’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon. Just a couple months before, I was diagnosed with an aggressively worsening case of idiopathic scoliosis: something one would consider life-shattering for anyone. While I knew major spine surgery would always impact my life to some extent, I had no way to predict how I would continue to learn from it years down the road.

Depending on the severity of the curvature, different treatment methods are implemented to attack this abnormality of the spine. Although the effectiveness of using plastic back braces to deter the curvature is still to be determined, doctors still generally use this method for smaller curves. In recent years, doctors have been employing a minimally invasive surgical approach for larger curves, one that requires surgeons to only make a few small incisions along the spine, rather than the traditional two-foot incision along the spine. This technique is by far the most radical treatment since the first scoliosis surgery took place in the early 1900s.

Scoliosis is a complex deformity or curvature of the spine and entire torso and has been recognized clinically for centuries (Asher, Marc A.). “For a few of the patients an underlying cause can be determined, including congenital changes, secondary changes related to neuropathic or myopathic conditions, or later in life from degenerative spondylosis. However, the cause of most scoliosis is not known and since about 1922 such patients have been diagnosed as having idiopathic scoliosis (Asher, Marc A.).”

The term “scoliosis” originates from the Greek word meaning crooked, and it describes lateral curvature and rotation of the spine. This deformity is mostly seen in normal, rapidly growing, preadolescent and adolescent children, although it can span all age groups (Dunn, 1978). Onset of this condition appears to be at 10 years of age, however about 80% of all types of scoliosis are idiopathic. Two to five percent of school children have a Cobb angle of ≥10º, and in two tents of a percent the angle exceeds 20°. Other common types include congenital/ osteogenic scoliosis secondary to vertebral anomalies, neuropathic scoliosis, and neuromuscular scoliosis. The treatment and prognosis for this condition depends on distinction between

Since the beginning of the semester, my writing has changed and evolved to accommodate and sustain longer essays. With longer essays, there is more room for in-depth analysis. Further analyzing a topic has led me to findings that I did not know existed. As I continue to write, I uncover addition and superior methods to approach my writing to the benefit of me and therefore, my audience. Throughout the semester, I have incorporated techniques to further my narrative throughout my writing.