Coping with Scoliosis

Coping with Scoliosis DEREK IVY - COPING WITH SCOLIOSISAitcheson, C. (1996). Guest Editorial: Ready to straighten up? This common conditionthat contorts spine and self-image is correctable! Cosmopolitan, Feb., 116-120.SUMMARYGracefully, the statuesque Southern belle walked toward the stage, each delicatestep bringing her closer to the moment she'd been dreading. After seven years as abeauty-pageant contestant, she was facing her first swimsuit competition, about toperform a 360-degree turn wearing only a one-piece bathing suit, heels, and a smile.Although it was a significant portion of the competition, she executed the twirl a bit toofast, because she didn't want the judges to scrutinize a scar that ran the entire length ofher spine, the result of an operation eleven years earlier to correct scoliosis. In the end,neither her imperfect pivot nor flawed posterior seemed to matter: Michelle Mauney,twenty-five, won the swimsuit competition and the title of Miss North Carolina U.S.A.Front and side view of ver tebral column fron Andre...1995.'I was scared and self-conscious until the instant the winner was announced,'recalls Michelle. 'Walking around in a bathing suit in front of all those people was thehardest thing I'd ever done, but it really boosted my confidence and made me feel normalfor the first time in my life!'No one knows exactly what causes scoliosis, but since the disorder seems to runin families, researchers have long suspected genetics play an important role. Less-common causes include vertebral birth defects and neuromuscular diseases such ascerebral palsy and spina bifida.What is scoliosis? A chronic, progressive condition affecting approximately 2percent of the population. Typically, it strikes girls between ages ten and fifteen, causingtheir backbones to bow from side to side rather than grow in a straight line from neck totailbone. Although not life-threatening, if left untreated, a misshapen...