Hi there,
My name is Gemma and I am in the first year of a 3 year full time degree in Therapeutic Bodywork at the University of Westminster.
I am becoming increasingly interested in how people with kyphosis, scholiosis and lordosis have been affected by the conditions throughout their lives. From having kyphosis myself and enduring a very difficult time with it, I am starting to work on raising awareness of these conditions to my fellow students atthe university and also (hopefully) massage students at colleges in my local area. I have so far done a presentation on my personal experiences including the psychological affects which are, sadly, often overlooked.
I would really love to hear fromanyone, especially people who are over the age of 21thathave not had operations to straighten their spine. Whether the condition affects you or you have family and friends who have been diagnosed with any of these.
In particular I am interested in learning more about the following...:
- Whether physiotherapy made any difference to the condition
- Whether braces/ plaster jackets etcwere effective or worsened the condition
- If operation were undergone- success and / or complications
- And most importantly, psychological effects...low self esteem, argoraphobia, self harming, suicidal etc etc
Okay so some of these sound really harsh, but this is something that I might consider focusing on more in my third year and I would really love to hear from absolutely anyone affected by these 3 conditions, regardless of the severity.
Finally if anyone has found successful treatments that have helped, e.g exercise, pilate/yoga, alexander technique, rolfing, etc that would be super. It gives me a good scope of what treatments are helping and may even give me some ideas for future studies.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this. Send me a PM and I will get back to you.
Gemma
Undergraduate- BSc Hons Therapeutic Bodywork
RE: Would like some help from people with kyphosis etc
Just a brief update,
I have spoken to my personal tutor about all this and she is giving me her full support and suggests I do this as a research project.
There is also another thing I would like to add to the list of questions...
- For women- As well as back problems, do you suffer from PCOS (poly cystic ovary syndrome) or do you have any problems with your periods.
- For men- Did you startpuberty at a late age?
- And for everyone- As well as back problems, do you also suffer from skin conditions such as psoriasis?
For those of you who have contacted me thanks so much, I really appreciate it. Anyone else who would like to have their say, send me a PM and I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Gemma