Early Scoliosis Intervention
By Dr. Brian T Dovorany

Scoliosis is a disease of the neuro-muscular system that has long challenged health care professionals worldwide. The current treatment options or lack of any treatment for most families dealing with an early detection of this disease can be very frustrating. In most cases children diagnosed with scoliosis are told they have it and the healthcare team will monitor it to see if it gets worse. This would be similar to having a doctor tell you that you have a highly progressive cancer but we will wait until it spreads before we can do anything for you. Statistically, scoliosis is progressive in most cases.

So where does this leave a child who have been diagnosed with scoliosis below 25 degrees? The general medical approach is to wait until the curve reaches 25 degrees at which time the orthopedic specialist will recommend bracing. The most common form of bracing is a hard brace which is to be worn on average 22 hours daily until skeletal maturity or until the curve advances to 40 degrees then they will push for surgical intervention.

What medical practitioners typically don't tell you is that once the curve reaches 25 degrees the likelihood of progression is 68% even with bracing attempts. So that leaves nearly 70% of the families with a highly progressive disease that ends up involving surgical intervention, a highly invasive surgery with significant post surgical ramifications. I don't know about you, but if my daughter was offered this solution as the only option, I would be very frustrated, scared, and disappointed in our healthcare system for not coming up with a better alternative to effectively combat scoliosis other than bracing and surgery.

Doctors involved with CLEAR-Institute, a non profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for scoliosis have developed a system that can effectively reduce and stabilize scoliosis without bracing or surgery. In fact, the majority of the scoliosis cases treated by the CLEAR methodology have been the result of family's not wanting surgery or who bracing attempts have failed. This means a huge portion of scoliosis cases that have been reduced and stabilized using CLEAR protocols have been above the 40 degree level. This is a profound discovery because the program was originally designed to correct scoliosis. Meaning take scoliosis generally above 30 degrees Cobb angle and correct it to an ideal level of 5 degrees or less. The problem is that the majority of cases over 30 degrees have not corrected to this ideal 5 degrees or less range. Now this is in no way a failure because a non surgical method has the consistent ability to reduce and stabilize this highly progressive disease. This tremendous accomplishment will most likely revolutionize the treatment for this disease. It is also considered a major accomplishment if we are able to stop progression let alone reduce the actual curve measurement without using bracing, casting, or surgery. The average reduction of curves over 30 degrees in most CLEAR certified clinics is 30-50% with good stabilization rates.

I am writing this article in an effort to inform families with early detection of scoliosis, you can be proactive. The status quo of watching and waiting for the inevitable train wreck is no longer your only option. The CLEAR-Institute has developed a scoliosis treatment option that is ideal for curves under 30 degrees. The reason for the lack of a complete correction with curves above 30 degrees is due to the inherent nature of scoliosis as a feed forward mechanism. Meaning once the curve progresses to 30 or above, the "crankshaft phenomenon" kicks in, which creates massive rotation coupled with lateral flexion and compression. This phenomenon is very difficult to undo. When a curve reaches the 30 degree mark, the chance that a curve progresses skyrockets. This is also why a 50 degree curve may reduce to 30 using the CLEAR method, which is fantastic, but the scoliosis still remains alive. It has not been fully corrected and therefore has the innate potential to want to continue to grow.

By attacking the scoliosis before it reaches this pivotal point of 30 degrees we can typically correct the scoliosis. We are able to reduce the curve to an ideal 5 degrees or less, thus defeating the disease rather than only taming it. Imagine having the opportunity to fix the problem before it spirals out of control giving you the freedom to go about your life without having to constantly worry about what the scoliosis is doing or what it will become. The CLEAR scoliosis program can and will become the first line of defense against childhood scoliosis. At some point CLEAR doctors providing this technology to their communities will be the standard recommendation for children diagnosed with scoliosis. We have the potential to be the "cure."

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with scoliosis visit http://CLEAR-Institute.org for more information.

About the Author

Dr Dovorany has been in active practice in Green Bay, WI for over 11 years and specializes in scoliosis treatment. Dr Dovorany is chair of the CLEAR-Institute's board of advisors education committee and is recognized nationally as one of CLEAR Institutes leading teachers for advanced scoliosis corrective treatment.