health & diseases

Parents of children with learning disabilities would know a great deal about anxiety and stress when it comes to caring for their children. Not only would they know about them from their own personal experiences, but also their own children’s sufferings as they go through life, being unable to express themselves properly. Experts on learning a abilities believe that teaching your child to recognize stress triggers can help a great deal in teaching them how to successfully handle some of life’s frustrations and negativities. However, experts know that this could be one thing that parents may really have a difficult time teaching their children. Parents need to know what their children’s stress triggers are, talk about such triggers with their children, and find ways to solve the problem before their children reach the point when their stress hormones turn incontrollable. If, for example, your child becomes stressed when you tell him or her to turn off the television, perhaps you can both agree to have a two or five minute warning before you actually turn the appliance off. The basic idea is to let your child have sufficient time and opportunity calm down first. Just as you should know the stress triggers, you should also know their coping mechanisms and you should know how to identify healthy ones and support them accordingly. Some children may find music soothing and thus, perhaps you could allow them to have personal music players so they can listen to music even while studying or doing some homework. Children with learning abilities could suffer meltdowns and you should be aware of the stress signals they show before an event, and you should be ready to intervene as well. If you see your child starting to show such signs after studying for about two hours, you could try to encourage him to do some activities that you know are his cooping mechanism to distract him and help calm him down.

About the Author

Terry McHenry, author of this article, is an avocate of edu-therapeutics – a specialized learning system developed and refined over the past 30 years by Dr Joan Smith. It provides Training Programs for Parents and Teachers To Remediate Learning Disabilities, ADD, Dyslexia and Reading Problems.

Heart disease is one of the most common causes of death for men and women. According to the famous Frauenarzt Mönchengladbach some important reasons behind the heart diseases are smoking, high blood pressure, family history, high cholesterol as well as the age factor.

It is important to consider your lifestyle and your general health so that you are able to prevent such heart diseases. If you fear you are at risk, the first step would be to and talk to your family doctor who can help you evaluate your heart risk and thus prevent potential problems.

Hereditary problems can often be inevitable however certain alterations in lifestyle can be made in order to get rid of a large number of other risk factors. Doctors of Kardiologie Mönchengladbach are very reputed for their excellence in the domain of cardiology. Some important precautions to prevent cardiac problems can be:
• Quit smoking: though everybody knows the harmful effects of smoking, people do not seem to be quite enthusiastic in quitting it. Smoking is as a major risk factor especially in case of heart diseases. Most of the heart attacks in women who are below the age of 50 years occur because of smoking. The risk of heart attack can be reduced by one third in a span of 2 years when you quit smoking. For people who are really serious about quitting, there are many remedies available. They can opt for prescription medicines, etc.
• Keeping your blood pressure on check: High blood pressure can often result in heart attack or a stroke. Blood pressure should be kept on check using a healthy diet, controlled weight as well as regular exercise. Reducing the salt intake can also be help high blood pressure patients.
• Cholesterol level needs to be checked: Incase you are not aware about the cholesterol level in your blood it is important that you get to know about the same. Healthy diet is essential to lower the cholesterol levels that have risen. Medicines might be used to supplement the same.
• Maintaining your weight; Internist Mönchengladbach often advise people to get rid of extra flab as excessive weight puts strain on the heart as well as arteries. Proper exercise as well as low calorie diet is important to help you lose weight. Controlling weight can help you avoid diabetes as well as heart diseases.

Healthcare facilities in Mönchengladbach are renowned. One can look for all sorts of medicare including psychologe Mönchengladbach, internist Mönchengladbach as well as kardiologie Mönchengladbach here. Tips from exceptional healthcare professionals can help you stay fit and disease free.

About the Author

Albert Zentrum has been working as a Health and Fitness Advisor since the last 4 years. Albert Zentrum has authored a number of health related write-ups on Frauenarzt Mönchengladbach, Psychologe Mönchengladbach, Internist Mönchengladbach, Kardiologie Mönchengladbach etc. providing essential tips to healthy living.

A worrying concern with eczema is that it is a chronic condition. As of date, dermatologists are not clear about the exact eczema causes. It is suggested that both, hereditary and environmental factors are responsible for developing this skin problem. Eczema natural treatment is slowly becoming one of the most effective ways of controlling the disease.

1. If you are suffering from eczema on your arms, you should maintain that part hydrated. You can do this by applying hydrating creams. You can find these at your local convenience stores and are cheap. You don’t have to buy the expensive stuff as all of them will hydrate your skin enough to lessen the severity of your eczema condition. This will get rid of eczema enough to make you comfortable.

2. The internal cures begin with adding certain vitamins and minerals to your daily regime. Some people feel that eczema shows up if you have a vitamin B12 deficiency. The use of fish oil or the addition of foods rich in Omega 3 fatty acids is used to boost your immune system. It can also reduce the inflammation caused by the eczema.

3. Musk melon is one of the most effective remedies for eczema. Eat only musk melons three times a day for forty days or more. In the beginning only 3 kilos of musk melons should be taken daily for 3 days. The quantity should be increased by 1 kg daily till the appetite is catered for. Use only sweet and fresh fruit of the best variety to treat eczema.

4. Another way to control eczema is to make sure you don;t use rough clothing. The most common mistake people do is use wool clothing. Wool is very abrasive and irritates the skin easily. Check the clothing labels to make sure they’re not made out of wool and you’ll be one step ahead in controlling your eczema.

5. Ginger is an anti-inflammatory and it has been found that taking ginger capsules and or drinking ginger tea have been effective in relieving the symptoms of eczema.

6. It is found out through laboratory tests, that eczema happens due to lack of linoleic acid. Safflower being rich in this acid can be used for the treatment of eczema. Two tablespoons of safflower oil should be taken daily for the treatment of the disease.

7. When bathing yourself, do not use soap. Use a pH balanced shampoo and avoid letting the suds run over your skin when you rinse your hair.

About the Author

Author is an online medical researcher on eczema treatment and skin care. Click read more on eczema treatment, acne treatment.

The Sexual transmitted diseases are infections that are transmitted from person to person during the sexual intercourse. There are around of 24 sexual transmitted infections with a variety of symptoms or signs in the individuals that have them.

The Infections can be contagied during the sexual intercourse through vagina, anus and mouth.

The Sexual transmitted diseases are known also as Sexual Transmitted Infections becuase many of the times the diseases do not cause any symptom or disease and are preferred to be name Infections instead of diseases.

The common symptoms of STI s are different, but the most common are irritation, bumps, itchiness, pain while urinating and/or unusual genital discharge either in men or women.

The most common Sexual Transmitted Diseases are:

Chlamydia: It is a infection caused by the bacteria Chlamydia Trachomatis. It is one of the most reported infections transmitted sexually. This infection affects the urethra, the rectum, the eyes in women and men and the cervix in women. If this infection is not treated on time, it can cause fertility problems in women. The symptoms of the infection usually are not noticed by the infected person, but when the symptoms appear, they start between 1 and 3 weeks after the sexual exposure.

Genital warts are caused by subtypes of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and it may appear on the skin on the genitalia in the shape of warts, like white or flesh color or as cauliflower shape. The warts do not cause pain, but they may cause itchiness and sometimes are difficult to detect. In women, the HPV is associated with Cervical cancer and today, even it has been correlated as the cause of mouth and throat cancer.

Gonorrhea is a Sexual transmitted disease that can affect the Urethra, cervix, rectum, anus and throat in the individual. The symptoms, if they appear, will show between the day 1 or 14 after the exposure. The symptoms are pain while urinating, white discharge from the penis, unusual vaginal or anal discharge.

Hepatitis C causes the inflammation of the liver. The type C is a virus that is transmitted through sexual intercourse, blood transfusion and it causes permanent damage to the liver, and if it is not treated on time, it may cause death in the person.

Genital Herpes is caused by two types of the Herpes Simple Virus referred as Type 1 and 2. HSV type 2 affects the genitalia and the type 1 usually affects the mouth and lips. The HSV-2 is one of the most common viruses in the population of the world. The symptoms of the Herpes appear 2 to 7 days after the exposure and they can last up to 4 weeks. The symptoms of Herpes are itchiness and burning in the genital area; small blisters full of transparent liquid, and when they explode they leave painful sores that can get even more painful while urinating, specially in women; headaches; backaches and flu-like symptoms as well. After the first outbreak, the virus of the herpes stays in the nerves roots near to the place of its original outbreak and stays there until the person’s immunity is challenged, and a new outbreak will appear.

Syphilis is an infection caused by Treponema pallidum bacteria. This infection shows symptoms in the person after 3 months of being exposed to the bacteria. The common symptoms are non-painful blisters in the genitalia or mouth; inflammation of the lymphatic nodes in the groin area; fever and symptoms of having an infection as bodyaches.

Trichomoniasis is caused by the unicelular organism known as Trichomonas Vaginalis and this organism is transmitted during sexual intercourse. It can affect the vagina and the urethra in men and women. This STD does not show symptoms in the person but if they appear are mostly in women causing fetid and generous vaginal discharge.; pain during intercourse and pain while urinating.

The best method to prevent any Sexual Transmitted disease in sexually active populations is the correct use of the condom. It is important to take responsibility and act safe.

About the Author

The author provides free information to teenagers and young adults about the consequences of unsafe sexual activities.

Anorexia home remedies involve the consumption of grapes, mint, lukewarm water, ginger, lemon, apple, garlic etc. Any problem which leads to disorder during digestion is known as anorexia. As a consequence of anorexia, the patients lose their appetite and are unable to digest proper diet. Also, sleepless and weakness in the body is experienced.

Anorexia is known to affect the overall health of the sufferer. It is the result of poor eating habits. Women especially want to reduce their weight to zero size and are the common patients of anorexia. Medical consultation is required instantly in this case however, anorexia can also be treated by the use of home remedies for anorexia.

Natural home remedies for anorexia

One of the good home remedies for anorexia includes the consumption of two to three fresh oranges on regular basis; it increases appetite and cure anorexia.

aking an apple everyday increases the appetite and also increases the function of digestive system. Apple is also known for providing the digestive system with some roughage.

Take a glass of water and add into it two to three cloves when boiling. Add half a teaspoon of lemon juice into it and drink it two times a day and continue this for at least one week. The appetite will be increased. It is a natural cure for anorexia and one of the good home remedies for anorexia.

Home remedies for anorexia also lies in the use of lemon juice. Take a teaspoon of lime and mix it well with same quantity if ginger juice. Now add a gram of salt to this mixture. Keep the mixture away from dust, in direct sunlight for three days. Consuming one teaspoon of it will increase the power to digest and also makes you crave for food. This is one of the effective home remedies for anorexia.

Garlic is the best natural drug which is known for increasing appetite. Garlic increases the digestive capability like a fire. If a soup of garlic is given to the patient, the anorexia is cured immensely.

Potent Anorexia Kitchen Remedies or homemade remedies for loss of appetite

Vegetable soup added with salt is also known to enhance the appetite.

Increasing the intake of salads made of capsicums, tomatoes, cabbage, beets and cucumbers. Eating tomatoes in raw form is a natural remedy for anorexia.

One of the effective home remedies for anorexia includes the consumption of sour grapes. The juice of sour grapes is beneficial when the flour is kneaded with it before making chapatti. Adding a small pinch of salt will increase the appetite.

Home remedies for anorexia also include the use of lemon and salt. If a small pinch of salt and a few drops of lemon are sprinkled over the salad and then consumed, the appetite will surely increase.

Chicken soup is the best diet for sufferers of anorexia. Adding in juice of ginger and black pepper can increase its action.

Yoga is another best method for increasing appetite. Postures such as vajrasana and pavanamuktasana are known for enhancing appetite. This is one of the best home remedies for anorexia

Due to some kind of brain injury or psychological reasons or due to emotional reasons a person may loose his or her memory, this condition is called as Anorexia. In Anorexia patient could get partial or complete memory loss. There are different kinds of Anorexia depending upon the reasons for getting the Anorexia. The patient with Anorexia start forgetting names and words and one day forget their own identities. This generally happens in old age.

Home remedies for Anorexia:

In medical science there are various tests that are conducted on the patients of Anorexia in order to check how much of their brain is damaged. In case they don’t have any brain injury and the Anorexia is caused due to some emotional reasons then there are various psychotherapy methods that help such patients in leading a normal life. There are many home remedies for Anorexia , which are helpful in improving the memory.

Eating walnuts has many benefits and one of them is sharp memory for those who eat them. Make a point to eat about twenty grams of walnuts on a daily basis for having the sharp memory.

Apple is a rich source of various vitamins and minerals and it is very good in the treatment of Anorexia. For the treatment of Anorexia you should eat apple and then have one cup of milk with few drops f honey added in it.

To make your brain strong enough so that the emotional ups and downs don’t have any effect on brain, eat lots of almonds . You can keep the almonds overnight soaked in water and next day morning eat them after removing their red coating. You can also make a paste of these almonds and mix butter and sandalwood in it. Use this mixture as an inhaler. This will make your brain cells very active.

Early in the morning on an empty stomach take a mixture prepared by mixing fine paste of five black pepper and honey together.

The herb sage is also effective in reducing the chances of getting Anorexia. If you will prepare a tea form the sage leaves and drink it on a daily basis, then your concentration will also improve. This is one of the very effective home remedies for Anorexia .

Include lots of fruits in your diet, mainly fruits like oranges, grapes, figs, raisins, etc. These fruits will provide the tonic required for the brain to function well.

You can prepare a tea from rosemary leaves and drink it twice in a day for improving your memory.

Wash the basil leaves and eat them for getting good memory. You can eat basil leaves early in the morning and then again in the evening.

Yoga and meditation are also very helpful ways with which you can make your mind more alert and make your memory sharp.

Avoid drinking too much coffee, alcohol and soft drinks as they have adverse effect on health and your mind too. Avoid processed foods and as much as you can eat home cook food.

Human is also a one of the animals created by God. The only thing that differentiates us humans with other animals is the brain. With the grace and blessing of God, humans are provided with the developed brain that provides them with the power to actually rule the world. But with such a stressful life and lots of botheration and most importantly unhealthy lifestyles has lead to the decrease in the activity of our brain functioning. There are many other factors that are also contributing to the decreased activity of the brain. Age is also an important factor that leads to the decreased memory. Deficiency of various vitamins and minerals are also a contributing factor.

In this section of the memory we would provide you with the various remedies and information with which you can get benefit and improve your mental skills

About the Author

In this section of the memory

There are two things that can make the overgrowth of Candida yeast so challenging. First this type of infection can be both systemic and digestive. Second doctors will often treat only the associated symptoms and not the underlying cause.

Those looking at potential candida treatment options should know that there are traditional medical approaches as well as holistic approaches. If you are looking at potential yeast infection treatment options you need to learn about Diflucan as well as holistic candida treatments.

Having a yeast health infection is what every person dreads. As annoying as it can be its symptoms are grave and very discomforting. yeast health infection can occur anywhere in the body. Many people resort for instant relief from its symptoms instead of taking measures to curb the root cause.

‘STOP GETTING RIPPED OFF! LEARN THE SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT CANDIDA YEAST INFECTION DRUGS AND CREAMS… To get the FACTS on exactly how to eliminate your yeast infection from the root 100% naturally and Permanently and achieve LASTING freedom from candida related symptoms without spending your hard-earned money on drugs and over the counters…’

Cure yeast infection >>

Candidiasis or fungal infection caused by candidal fungi is often known as a yeast health infection. There are more than 20 breeds of this fungus and the most common is Candida Albican. This kind of yeast health infection is treatable but we often tend to assume that it will go away on its own. This is what makes the infection recurring. You can treat it with some of the best natural cures for candidiasis that are available in our homes.

In this article I’m going to describe a few Candida home remedies. This is directed towards women who are dealing with this infection chronically. If your frustrated from the burning itchiness and soreness that you have to deal with a few times a year – understand that you have options to help treat your Candida. Here are a few tips to help you start feeling healthy again.

Whenever people face have an embarrassing infection such as yeast health infection the first thing that comes to mind is an over the counter treatment. The bulk of the people that patronize over the counter drugs are those who cannot bear to face the doctor while they get diagnosed of an embarrassing infection.

If people are following a candida protocol that is not working for them it is up to them to help themselves. All the articles in this web are all I was suggesting. To stay on certain drugs or a certain plan for a period of time and continue to feel lousy day after day makes the situation more hopeless.

About the Author

yeast health infection cures are available naturally or as medication. Before you start treating your yeast health infection there are some important facts you much know….

Social networks are an incredible resource for teenagers who are hospitalized for extended periods of time, says AboutKidsHealth.ca

Since its inception more than two decades ago, the Internet continues to influence the way people work, play, and access information. What started out as a medium for academics and military personnel to share research and classified information, the Internet has become an ubiquitous array of invisible networks, connecting people from all corners of the globe on home computers, iPads, and smartphones.

But with the advent of social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, the Internet is changing the way people interact with each other. For some, social networks are a platform for idle chatter. But for others, like 14-year-old Liam Jefferson, these sites play a vital role in their daily lives.

In the summer of 2010, Jefferson was diagnosed with myelodysplasia, or preleukemia, an often chronic condition in which the bone marrow — the area of the body where red cells, white cells, and platelets develop — does not function properly. For the last six months, he has been in and out of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) for treatment, including chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. With no other option than to stay at the hospital for days, and even weeks at a time, Jefferson began to feel isolated from the outside world.

“You’re kind of closed off from everyone and you can’t talk to anybody,” he says. “As a teenager you spend a lot of time reaching out and being social with everybody, and I think this is important because it really helps you figure out who you are and what you want to do later in life. That’s why I like Facebook … for the social aspect.”

At this point, access to the Internet, specifically social networks, is crucial to the quality of life of a teenage patient, especially those with a chronic condition.

“They are lifelines. They allow teenagers who are patients to not feel that disconnected and this is paramount for them,” says Deborah Berlin-Romalis, a clinical social worker at SickKids. “It’s their connection with that world, and it allows them to stay posted, post pictures, and give updates to friends and family because the phone is just not enough now.”

Berlin-Romalis, who works in both the Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program and the Paediatric Brain Tumour Program at SickKids, says living day-to-day in a hospital is tough for anyone, no matter how old they are. But for adolescents, who are ready to launch themselves into young adulthood, it can be especially challenging.

In a recent study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project and the California HealthCare Foundation, researchers discovered that blogging and online health discussions are the two most popular activities people living with a chronic disease engage in while surfing the Web.

“These resources allow an internet user to dive deeply into a health topic, using the internet as a communications tool, not simply an information vending machine,” writes Susannah Fox, associate director of digital strategy at Pew and coauthor of the study. “Living with a chronic disease is also associated, once someone is online, with a greater likelihood to access user-generated health content such as blog posts, hospital reviews, doctor reviews, and podcasts.”

For Jefferson, scouring the Web for information about his condition wasn’t something he engaged in right away. “I remember in the beginning, when the doctors would ask me if I had any questions for them, I was pretty quiet because I just wanted [the procedure] done,” he says. “But once I got into researching my condition, I began to think about it more and more and from that I started to get more involved by asking a lot of questions.”

Please visit AboutKidsHealth.ca for more information, or view the original article here: http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/News/NewsAndFeatures/Pages/Social-networking-a-lifeline-for-hospitalized-teens.aspx

For more information, please contact:

Sue Mackay, Communications

mailto:susan.mackay@sickkids.ca

The Hospital for Sick Children

555 University Avenue

Toronto, Ontario

Canada

M5G 1X8

Tel: 416-813-5165

About the Author

AboutKidsHealth.ca

AboutKidsHealth.ca is the leading Canadian online source for trusted child health information, and has a scope and scale that is unique in the world. Developed by SickKids Learning Institute in collaboration with over 300 paediatric health specialists, the site provides parents, children, and community health care providers with evidence-based information about everyday health and complex medical conditions, from second-hand smoke to chronic illnesses. AboutKidsHealth.ca adheres to rigorous quality standards for the creation and review of health information.

Visit www.aboutkidshealth.ca to find out more.

High blood pressure is definitely a very major issue. People everywhere are affected every single day. For a few, high blood pressure can be easily corrected. Other people have an incredibly frustrating time controlling the malady. Some individuals combat it with medication, while another person may not be that lucky. It is possible to understand, then, why so many people look for simple solutions and natural cures for the condition. This is one of the reasons you will find plenty of so called “natural remedies” being sold on the internet. This article will review the Blood Pressure Factors(TM) available from Michaels Naturopathic Programs.

Michael’s Naturopathic Programs was started by Michael Schwartz during the 1980s. Michael Schwartz received recognition in the industry of natural medicine in the mid 1970s and was one of the first to introduce gender-specific supplements. Blood Pressure Factors has been the primary item produced by this organization for longer than 20 years. It has an outstanding approval rating in the natural healing field.

Blood Pressure Factors is the trademark associated with a capsulized dietary supplement. The pill contains calcium sulfate, maltodextrin, magnesium stearate and stearic acid to help you drop your blood pressure levels. These ingredients combine to aid the body so that the arteries can allow for good fluid levels while also providing extra nutrition to the nervous system. To be certain that this supplement is performing efficiently, you need to take three capsules each day. These could be consumed either through the day, at mealtimes or all at once with your breakfast.

Price wise, this nutritional supplement is pretty reasonably priced. For seventeen dollars you can buy a bottle of 60 capsules and twenty-two dollars will buy ninety capsules. If you really have confidence in the supplement you can buy a sixty-day supply of them for less than forty dollars. As far as cost, that is more affordable than just about every other natural solution out there. This is nice because it reduces the likelihood of someone trying to get you to shell out your money on something simply for an affiliate sale.

Being aware that the product has been so well liked for more than twenty years makes us think that it probably isnt unsafe. The fact is that practically all of the reviews for this product have been notably positive. Whether this drug truly works or just helps facilitate the placebo effect, we simply cannot tell.

Just like with other products that would you like to use to improve your health, you should be sure that your health professional takes a look at this supplement. Your health specialist will be familiar with your health history and has the ability to tell you whether or not this specific supplement can help you lower your blood pressure. You should be glad to learn, though, that the majority of blood pressure levels can be controlled through the combination of medication and healthy eating. Of course, before you decide to buy two months worth of Blood Pressure Factors, you’ll want to make sure that it will truly help you out.

About the Author

Brian’s websites: Micro Fibre Cloths, Medial Meniscus Tear, Lanvin Perfume and Lanvin Flats.

Learn about diet candida foods and drinks you’ll need to avoid. The Candida and alcohol connection is a big one you need to know about in order to fight this serious medical problem effectively.

Candida also goes by the names of candidiasis monilia yeast infection and thrush. The symptoms a vaginal discharge stinging and itching of the vagina can seem similar to those of vaginitis but candida is quite a different problem. A good candida cure must address the root cause which is fungal rather than bacterial.

An untreated yeast health infection is no longer to worry about. Although many women are doing the same exact mistake when it comes to curing it. Most of the time they don’t cure it.

‘STOP GETTING RIPPED OFF! LEARN THE SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT CANDIDA YEAST INFECTION DRUGS AND CREAMS… To get the FACTS on exactly how to eliminate your yeast infection from the root 100% naturally and Permanently and achieve LASTING freedom from candida related symptoms without spending your hard-earned money on drugs and over the counters…’

Eliminate yeast infection >>

Candidiasis or yeast infection is one of the most common diseases of women. But there are also male yeast infections oral yeast infections and diaper rash in infants. All of these yeast infections are caused by a species named candida albicans. This fungal species lives naturally in human body in a small amount but are prevented from doing any harm by our immunity system and other microorganisms. But if this delicate balance is somehow disturbed then yeasts can overgrow and cause the infections.

yeast health infections are embarrassing and sometimes very painful. Of course there are various solutions to get rid of it. The medications are either in the form of home remedies prescription drugs and over the counter medicine like Monistat 7.

Candidiasis is an overgrowth of Candida yeast which is caused when the body’s levels of friendly bacteria drop too low too keep the yeast in check. But just how prevalent is candidiasis? Are we overestimating the problem here? This article briefly examines the statistics behind Candida overgrowth.

A friend is worried about doing the candida diet as she eats and craves sugar horribly and really don’t like veggies to replace her carbs. Personally I also love the carbs. But they are really just a form of sugar that converts in your body especially if the carbs are breads etc. That is pure yeast. You will not get off of this thing until you give up the sugar yeast and wheat at least for a month or two while you are taking some kind of yeast killer.

About the Author

People are more likely to get a Candida yeast infection if their immune system is weakened. A candida infection can in extreme cases get into the bloodstream causing systemic yeast infection. In ord…

Scoliosis is a 3-dimension spinal deformity that can have devastating effects on one’s life physically, emotionally, socially, and even psychologically. It effects up to 12% of the American female population, but often gets little attention from the general population and even a large portion of the medical community. As a result, research and early stage scoliosis screening programs frequently goes under funded or out of existence entirely.
No one knows when the current treatment protocols were unofficially adopted by the current standards of practice, but many believe it stems from a 4 page article written by William Kane in 1977; which was a study conducted largely on a cost base analysis for the Canadian government. Despite the increased advancements in medical breakthroughs, the scoliosis treatment paradigm hasn’t been revisited in over 30 years.
The current system of scoliosis detection, evaluation, early intervention, treatment schedule, and treatment methods need to be completely over-hauled from the ground up. The current system is too patch-worked and broken to be fixed…..It needs to be replaced.
The primary screening tool used by most school nurses and general practioners is called Adam’s position (the bending over and looking for rib cage asymmetry test) which isn’t sensitive enough to detect scoliosis in its early stages, and is often referred to as “the too late test”.
The Cobb’s angle was developed in 1948 by Dr. Cobb and is a completely obsolete system of evaluation and charting curve progression. Attempting to describe a condition as complex as scoliosis purely by the means of lateral flexion on a single x-ray is the equivalent to attempting to describe all the features of your new luxury car by only its color. There is so much more to this condition than just a cobb angle, including respiratory volume, pain scales, body image, and quality of life in adulthood.

The Observation only recommendation for early stage scoliosis cases is not treatment, it is simply doing nothing. The advent of genetic testing for scoliosis allows the “at risk” patients to chose an aggressive, non-invasive early stage scoliosis intervention program to prevent the curve from progressing, rather than attempting to treat the spinal curvature after the fact. An adolescent child’s best hope of beating scoliosis is reduction and stabilization of the curvature while it is still flexible and before it gets a biomechanical advantage.

Scoliosis bracing should be abolished. It has no clinical value and only serves to psychologically scar our children whom already have enough hurdles to overcome. Scoliosis is a 3 dimensional deformity of the spine and some of the latest CT “in brace” imaging indicates rigid bracing increases the rotation component, especially the rib cage rotation.

Radical, multi-level spinal fusion surgery for scoliosis has been proven and accepted to provide no clinical value to the patient in terms of organic health measures (pulmonary function, cardiac output, elimination of pain, ect). The research on this is clear, the vast majority of orthopedic doctors agree on the subject, and may patients assume it is “medically necessary” and don’t even ask. The orthopedic doctor should make this very clear when discussing the procedure, but they don’t have an obligation to do so. Every patient must be their own advocate (which goes for every healthcare procedure). Given the high rate of complications, long recovery, and poor long-term outcomes; I feel asking a desperate parent and/or patient to trade deformity for dysfunction should be accompanied with all of the long-term ramifications associated with the decision.

I’m not claiming a conspiracy theory in respect to the orthopedic community, in fact I know many well intentioned and dedicated health care professionals have made scoliosis treatment their life’s work, but what real motivation would an orthopedic surgeon have to create a non-surgical solution? Every doctor is bias towards their treatment option, but asking the orthopedic community to re-work the entire problem is likely to receive a disingenuous effort due to financial conflicts of interest alone.

I hope scoliosis patients everywhere can come to the realization that the current system of treatment is broken and it needs to be fixed if we are truly going to offer a solution filled with hope to future scoliosis sufferers. We need a better way.

About the Author

Dr Dovorany graduated cum-laude and received recognition for clinical excellence from Palmer College in 1997 and has practiced for over 14 years in Green Bay,WI. Dr Dovorany specializes in scoliosis care and currently holds a position on the board of advisors for CLEAR-Institute as chairman of the doctor education committee.Dr. Dovorany is a lead instructor for Clear Institutes post graduate training in neuromuscular reeducation procedures http://www.treatingscoliosis.com