Treating patients with scoliosis

Almost all Filipinos know of someone with scoliosis. They may be living with these people in their own homes. This is how rampant the disease is.

According to the Scoliosis Association Inc., an international support and information organization, scoliosis is a condition that may appear in more than one member of a family in the same or different generations.

It does not develop as a result of anything that a child or his or her parents did or failed to do. Scoliosis may begin as misalignments during birth, causing difference in leg length.

Wrong sitting positions and unnatural movements can also cause some misalignments in the hip joint as the child grows with the uneven legs, the pelvis becomes oblique which then brings about the spinal deformity and other accompanying medical problems later in life. Poor posture or carrying a heavy book bag can aggravate scoliosis.

According to the Scoliosis Research Society, about 10 percent of the adolescent population has some degree of scoliosis. About one fourth of these children, or two to three percent, will require medical attention which may consist of observation for further progression of the curve, bracing or surgery, depending upon the degree of the curvature at the time of its detection.

Some scoliosis may be so mild that treatment may never be necessary. There are currently no medications to treat scoliosis, nor its onset can be prevented.

However, Living Life Well Medical Spa and Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) Clinic offers a method that can help patients with scoliosis.

Using the DORN method, which is a gentle treatment of the vertebra and other joints, the spine is realigned using massage and special self-care exercises. The method is used for treating illnesses directly or indirectly connected to the misaligned spinal column and the corresponding impinched spinal nerve.

Dr. Bien Castro, an anesthesiologist who handles the DORN and a CAM consultant at LLW, explains that the DORN method is a holistic way of treating scoliosis. "No medication nor surgery is needed in this method. It is free of unpleasant side effects, making it completely safe and yet very effective. The method heals the body, mind and spirit.

For more information, call 816-4733.