Scoliosis

[Guest ballet princess]

hi. Well i was told i have scoliosis about 2 years ago. My top curve was 12 and bottom was 8. Well in a year the top is now 20 and bottom is 15. It makes my right shoulder and hip higher and i lean into me left side a bit. The doctor said i might need a brace in a few months!!! i can take it off for dancing, so i can still continue with ballet but how will i manage with school, i am a dance major in an arts school! It affects my dancing in the sense that my right arabesque is hard to do because the muscles on that side are bigger. It upsets me so much and i feel like all hope i have of being a ballet dancer, even if in the corps in a small company are gone. Will this affect my chances of getting accepted into a ballet school? I feel so hopeless lately and i often cry myself to sleep. I feel as if no one understands how i feel, i feel so lonely. As if this isnt bad enough i dont like my doctor, does anyone know of some doctors that specialize in dancers or treat dancers often?

 

Sorry this sort of a rant, but i needed to share my feelings somewhere.

 

Any advice, experiences or replies are appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

By the way, I'm 14 years old, turning 15 on october 12.

[mom who sews]

dear ballet princess

 

please don't lose hope! my dd has completed the scoliosis gamut (brace and all) and is a beautiful dancer. Yes - it is harder for her, but she has done it. She is still at her SI, but due home this weekend. I will ask her to respond to your post.

 

mom who sews

[Victoria Leigh]

Ballet princess, it would help us to advise you in terms of the right doctor if we know where you live! There are some excellent dance doctors in NY, for instance, but I don't have any idea even what country you live in!

 

[Please people, go into your profile and put your location in there! It helps us a lot!This is for everyone, not just ballet princess! The locations did not transfer with the move to the new board. Please go into your personal CP and Edit your profile to show your location.]

 

Anyway, there are a lot of dancers with some degree of scoliosis, however, most are not severe. I am assuming the increase in your curvature is somewhat severe, if there is a possibility that you need a brace. This is serious, but, as Mom Who Sews said, it can be treated and may not necessarily stop your dreams of a career in ballet. At this point in time I would really suggest getting a second opinion from another doctor, and you are right about looking for an orthopedist who specializes in dance injury.

[Guest dancinbabie514]

don't loose hope...i had it pretty bad...and now it's almost all gone!

[Guest ballet princess]

Thanks for the responses.

 

mom who sews- i'm looking forward to your daughters response.

 

Ms. Leigh- actually, i live in New York!!! (i fixed my profile) preferably, i would like a doctor in queens or in the city.

[Mme. Hermine]

without giving medical advice (and i'm not qualified to anyway) i do know that you can work wtih scoliosis, depending of course on your circumstances. one ballerina i know had it was sonia arova, who i recall once in our ballet school, when she came to teach a guest week or something years ago, talking about it; she leaned over and showed us how her spine wasn't straight even then.

[Mme. Hermine]

sorry for posting in the young adults forum, ms. leigh, do remove it if you see fit.

[Mel Johnson]

Not a problem -- the anecdote was most useful. If Dame Sonia was good enough with scoliosis to dance with Nureyev, then it clearly demonstrates that the condition can be corrected.

[Guest whos_lulu]

I'm not sure if this is completely correct, but I have a slight scoliosis as well and my pilates instructor said to me that pilates can help correct it.

[Guest ballet_barbie72]

don't loose hope...i had it pretty bad...and now it's almost all gone!

dancinbabie514, you said that you had it pretty bad, but now it's almost gone. Did you overcome it with a brace, or by special exercises (like some one else said) because I have it only really mildly (you can hardly notice it at all) and I want to make sure that it doesn't get any worse. My doctor said that dancing makes it better, so I guess we are all lucky that we are dancers!

Love Erin

[Kate B]

Hi Ballet Princess. I've checked with Major Mel to see if it's OK to post and he said yes.

 

So! I was really touched by your post and I wanted to respond. I'm an adult who dances for fun, but I have scoliosis too. It was only noticed by my dancing teacher when I was 20-ish (I'm 26 now.) Before that I just wondered why I never stood up straight and why my skirt was higher on one side than the other.

 

Anyway, it's not a big curve but I get a lot of problems with pain and trapped nerves and feeling stiff. It's not so bad that I should have an operation or anything, but there are things that can be done that, even if they don't make a big difference to the curve, they can help with the pain and increase back strength and flexibility.

 

What I'm talking about is pilates and yoga. Recently I have been very good and done all my exercises regularly and I am very pleased with the results. If you are not already doing pilates or yoga I would recommend that you see if your doctor can recommend you to a specialist teacher in these disciplines. Even if they do not make big differences to your curve straight away, they should help you in other ways.

 

I wish you all the best and good luck! There are a lot of dancers who have made it despite scoliosis and you are doing the right thing trying to get it sorted out now.

[Guest ballet princess]

Wow, thanks so much everyone!!

 

Can anyone recommend a doctor that deals with dancers?? In the NY area.

[Mel Johnson]

Cathy, check this out.

 

http://www.danceinjury.com/hospitals/hjd/h...nce_center.html

 

You will probably need a referral from your regular physician, but the Center, while set up originally for treatment of acute conditions, also has lots of programs for chronic situations as well.