We know that scoliosis is relatively easy to be corrected among 11~12 year-old adolescents as their bones are immature. But how’s the effect among 16~17 year-old adolescents as their skeleton are basically mature? Can scoliosis be corrected by conservative treatment?

This is a story about a 16-year-old boy who successfully corrected large-angle scoliosis through persistent efforts!

"When I was a freshman in high school, I was diagnosed as 40° scoliosis"

Q: How did you find out that you had scoliosis? How old were you when you first came to Xinmiao Centre for treatment?

Xiaoyu: At that time, I found that I had unbalanced shoulder blades, so I took an X-ray in the hospital, and it showed that I had curved spine which is called scoliosis, and the Cobb angle had reached 40°, so I immediately went to Professor Yang's team for treatment, I was already 16 years old and in my first year of high school.

Cobb angle and back appearance before treatment

Q: With such a large curve angle, why did you insist on conservative treatment?

Xiaoyu: The main reason was that I didn't want to have surgery. First, I am afraid of pain, and second, I don't want my body to be harmed. I hope to live like a normal person in the future and no longer be affected by scoliosis.

Q: According to Xinmiao's conservative treatment plan, Xiaoyu needs to wear a brace and do physical exercise every day, so how did you arrange your study and exercise time?

Xiaoyu: In order not to affect my studies, I got up an hour early every day to do exercise. I usually got up at 5 o'clock in the morning and did exercise until 6 o'clock, and then I went to school, and I went home at 9 o'clock in the evening after self-study and began to finish doing the other exercise.

Q: Wearing a brace and sticking to physical exercise every day is challenging and it needs perseverance. What motivates you to keep going?

Xiaoyu: Xinmiao's treatment plan requires parents taking pictures of my appearance of the back every month, so that we can intuitively see whether the treatment is effective, and then I can see that my appearance of the back getting better and better, which makes me more motivated to persevere.

"The Cobb angle dropped to 18° after 5 months of treatment"

Q: How long did it take to see the significant changes?

Xiaoyu: After 5 months of treatment, I took an X-ray and found that the Cobb angle had dropped to 18°. After that, Xinmiao’s doctor adjusted the treatment plan according to my changes of scoliosis. In July 2023, I found that it had dropped to 9° when I took another X-ray!

Changes in the angle of the treatment process

Q: What kind of support and help did your parents provide to you during your treatment?

Xiaoyu: Every morning, my mother would come to wake me up on time. She supervised me to exercise, took pictures of my exercise movements to online punching, and they took pictures of my back appearance every weekend. During holidays, they would take me to Xinmiao Centre for follow-up.

Q: In the process of the treatment, parents need to assist their children to complete the daily online punching, did you find it difficult to persevere?

Xiaoyu's mother: I think this is our responsibility to do it, and every time we punched in online, Xinmiao’s therapist would give timely feedback, which was very helpful for our treatment.

Q: Do you have any experience to share about accompanying Xiaoyu's during his treatment?

Xiaoyu's mother: I think parents should supervise their children during treatment in helping them record the changes in the appearance of the back, I would always take look at the back appearance pictures with my boy and encourage him: You see that your back is slowly getting better, the previous effort is worth it, so he has the motivation to persevered in this way, and now I think the effect is quite good!

Changes in the appearance of the treatment process

Q: Do you have any advice for children with scoliosis who are undergoing conservative treatment?

Xiaoyu's mother: Children must listen to the doctor, strictly follow the doctor's instructions such as wearing brace and doing physical exercise every day. Although you have to repeat do the same thing every day, as long as you stick to it, you will gain the reward. Above all, persistence is very important!

Xiaoyu: During the treatment of scoliosis, I learned the meaning of perseverance, as long as I insist on exercising and wearing the brace for enough time according to the doctor's instructions, it can bring us great help. I hope that other children can also persevere, and believe that they can totally get back to normal!

Doctor's review

In this case, Xiaoyu has been treated from the age of 16 to 18, and the scoliosis has been corrected from 40° to the current 9°, which is a great success!

Many people think that scoliosis patients in this age have basically mature bones, and the effect of conservative treatment will not be good, so they may neglect to treat actively. This is not true, whenever a scoliosis is detected, we should treat it aggressively to avoid further aggravation of scoliosis.

Even if the child's bones are mature, under certain conditions such as good body flexibility and high compliance, the scoliosis can be controlled and improved to a certain extent through comprehensive conservative treatment.

So, the best time to treat scoliosis is not yesterday or tomorrow, but today! After we understand the dangers of this disease, we should take immediate action, actively cooperate with the doctor, strictly follow the doctor's instructions, and use unremitting efforts and firm perseverance to overcome scoliosis and restore the health and straightness of the spine!