DR MARTHA HAWES, author of Scoliosis and the Human Spine, is one of the world’s foremost authorities on scoliosis and she says that the condition can be successfully treated without surgery or bracing.
She was diagnosed with “moderately severe thoradic scoliosis” at the age of 11 and her doctors kept warning her that she needed surgery to prevent the condition from worsening. Her doctors also declared that “exercises don’t work”.
However, she managed to keep her condition stable during her youth and, at the age of 40, managed to reverse the condition despite the popular belief that scoliosis during adulthood is untreatable.
She achieved this using a combination of exercise-based mobilization therapies’ in partnership with her osteopathic physician. Her thoracic curve went from from 47 to 28 degrees, and her lumbar curve from 26 to 13 degrees.
Dr Hawes was surprised at her recovery. Being a research scientist – she is a professor at Arizona University – she decided to consult the medical library to find out why.
She found about 10,000 scientific papers on the subject and, after reviewing them over a period of three years, realized that her recovery was not all that surprising after all.