* Brave Louiselle urges medical profession to hear her story

Cardiff teenager, Louiselle Morris, 14, has avoided major back surgery by practicing a daily exercise routine prescribed by a Suffolk clinic, Scoliosis SOS.  She has issued a challenge to medics to inform themselves better about scoliosis, to examine closely the practise of putting teenagers in children’s wards rather than young people’s wards and to acknowledge that there are alternatives to surgery.

Louiselle has a condition known as scoliosis, excessive curvature of the spine, a condition that affects around three percent of the population, which often becomes apparent in teen years.  Normal treatment is to wait until the curve becomes severe and then operate.

Before her diagnosis, she was diagnosed with asthma, constipation and even told she was ‘hamming up’ the pain.  She and her family are outraged that they were told that scoliosis doesn’t hurt, and that her mother was ‘overcaring and fussy’.

 Attending the Scoliosis SOS Clinic in Suffolk, the course she attended was packed with other people whose pain had driven them to seek help: “If you weren’t in some kind of pain, you wouldn’t be going to the doctor for help.”

Founded and run by Erika Maude, who has scoliosis herself, the clinic opened a year ago and has since brought relief to hundreds of sufferers.  It is one of only three clinics in Europe to offer a programme using the Katharina Schroth method and is designed to help people with scoliosis using a carefully tailored exercise programme.

Louiselle has not only improved the muscle tone around her spine, holding it more upright, but has reduced her pain levels and feels more self assured.

“When they show you scans of a twisted spine, that image stays with you.  That was how I was seeing myself: twisted.  I know from meeting others with scoliosis that nothing could be further from the truth, and I don’t want others going through what I had to go through before getting help.”/ends

Notes to editors
Case studies are available upon request.

What is Scoliosis?
Three-dimensional condition of the spine, where there is a lateral deviation of the normal vertical line of the spine, which when measured using the Cobb angle on an X-ray, is greater than 10 degrees. Scoliosis consists of a lateral curvature of the spine with rotation of the vertebrae within the curve and a change in the sagittal (sideways) profile of the spine.

Who suffers from it?
It is estimated that 3% of the population have the condition. 80% of cases are idiopathic (of unknown cause) and most scoliosis develops during the adolescent growth spurt. It can sometimes be hereditary.

English speaking clinic
Based in Suffolk, Scoliosis SOS offers non-surgical treatment based on the internationally renowned Katharina Schroth method. Founded by Erika Maude, following her own treatment for scoliosis at the Quera Salva clinic, Barcelona, Erika has now brought this unique, non invasive treatment to the UK. Treatment has been proven to be effective in patients from 8 years old through to 80+.

Surgery as the only remedy – until now
Currently, for most people living with scoliosis in the UK major surgery is their only option.  Devised more than thirty years ago, the operation carries with it all the risks of major surgery, along with many side affects such as breathing problems and continuing pain. It does not minimise any ‘prominences’ the patient may have, nor can it alter any twisting of the shoulder blades or shifting of the hips that may have occurred.  In many cases, it is twenty-five or thirty years down the line that the problems created by surgery come to light.

The Clinic
All medical staff at the Scoliosis SOS clinic are fully trained in the Katharina Schroth method. The medical team is headed by a resident doctor, who is responsible for each patient’s treatment and who works alongside the centre’s dedicated therapists. In addition, patients are taken through the theory behind the condition, ensuring they fully understand what Scoliosis is, and how they can live with it.
All the clinic’s therapists are Chartered and State registered. This means they are registered with the Health Professions Council and are members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists. The clinic has been purposely designed for the treatment of scoliotics and can treat up to 35 patients at any one time.
The Katharina Schroth method
The Katharina Schroth method has been used successfully in Europe since 1921. The only two other dedicated clinics offering the Schroth method are in Germany and Spain, both of which are working to full capacity. Patients usually attend the clinic for a 4-week course of treatment. This can either be in one single 4-week block or two blocks of 2-weeks, to fit around the patient’s work or school schedule.

The clinic has developed this method and incorporated best practice from around the world to offer patients a uniquely effective non surgical relief programme.
Upon returning home daily practice for 30 minutes is all that is necessary to maintain the improved postural balance.
For further information please contact:
Zara Shirwan at Zed PR
sos@zedpr.co.uk
01189 698966
http://www.scoliosissos.com/