When I was in high school I was active in theater and dance and wanted to be a professional dancer. I auditioned for the Alvin Ailey School and dreamed of dancing in a modern dance company such as Hubbard Street (why I moved to Chicago from Cleveland). During a rehearsal for Oklahoma, I popped of the ribs in my back. I don't remember how painful it was, but the sound of it echoed throughout the theater. I went to chiropractor to get it fixed (he was the one who diagnosed me as having a dislocated rib- it looked like I had a egg sticking out of the middle of back). He took x-rays and came back to my parents and said, "Did you know she has scoliosis?"
From there we went to Cleveland Clinic for an assessment. At the time I was 17 and had no pain or injury from my scoliosis (other than the rib dislocation that just occurred) and I was told that because I was older, and probably not growing anymore, that the curvature would most likely not get any worse. Since I hadn't noticed the curvature before, I was thrilled to not have to do anything about it. Woo Hoo I was so intent on becoming a professional dancer I did not want to have to face the fact that I might have to make some special considerations because of my curvature. And I didn't want to think that I might not make it because my body wasn't perfect. So I ignored it and hoped it wouldn't be a problem.
Well, it eventually became a problem. I was the poster child of over-doing-it and not resting or taking care of myself. As I advanced in my training and the time I spent dancing and working out, I occasionally would strain my back(once every six months to a year). What would happen is that my shoulder and neck muscles would spasm so bad that I could not move my head or arms. This happened more predominately on the right side where my major curve was located. All I needed to do to treat it was rest, ice it and get a massage. Then all would be right with the world-or at least with my back.
Then one day I really injured my lower back. I don't remember exactly what I did or what was wrong with it, but it was pulled way out of line (that was the first I could notice in the mirror how crooked my body looked). It was very painful and I did physical therapy and traction to treat it. It was painful to walk and move for a long time and I had to admit that my body could not sustain the level of dancing activity that I wanted to do. So while I had stopped dancing to heal the injury, I decided to stop pursuing it as a career and went back to college to earn my bachelor's degree.
Throughout school, I remained active, took some dance classes and worked out a lot. The summer before I graduated, I completed the 1/2 triathlon in Chicago. I rarely had any back injuries (except for a week after the triathlon-I was carrying a very heavy book bag, working out everyday, didn't rest after the triathlon and tried to play ultimate Frisbee). I got a job after graduating working in an office and that was when I started to have more frequent back pain- the neck and shoulder muscles spasms where I couldn't move and they were happening with less provocation.
In January of 2004 I started getting debilitating headaches everyday. At first they started in the afternoon, but then they started coming on earlier and earlier to where they would start at 10 AM. I was taking 10-12 Tylenol a day to try to manage the headaches. I was not feeling back pain, so I didn't know what was happening. I had feeling it was related to my back but didn't know how. I started seeing doctors, took muscles relaxers and pain killers, went to a chiropractor and got massages. After about 2 months, I got relief.
What I discovered in that time was that my curvature was rapidly progressing and the headaches were tension headaches from the strained muscles in my upper back, neck and shoulders. I visited 3 different surgeons in orthopedic and neurosurgery. I was also able to get my old x-rays from when I was a teenager that allowed the doctors to see the progression. I had gone from a 40 degree thoracic curvature and a 33 degree lumbar curvature to a 54 degree thoracic curve and a 44 degree lumbar curve. That averaged out to be about 1 degree a year. That's considered a rapidly progressing curve, especially since I was no longer growing and only 30 years old.
I knew I wanted to have surgery because I was pretty miserable. I could not do any of the physical activities I liked to do, take dance class, bike, swim, lift weights, do cardio exercises, because I was constantly straining my muscles. I was spending all my extra time at doctors and chiropractor offices for treatment so that I could get through a day at work. I did not like living like this.
I was scared of a lot of things regarding surgery. It's not like you can change your mind after having a spinal fusion if you don't like the results. It was going to be a long and painful recovery. I was going to lose the mobility of my spine and I didn't know how this was going to affect my ability to do things. How would this affect me having children in the future? Would I ever be able to dance again? Would I have to have multiple surgeries?
So I decided to have a spinal fusion and scheduled it for later in the year. It was with the 3rd doctor I had seen. The first doctor I was referred to by my primary physician did not specialize in spinal fusion for scoliosis. He recommended someone who was not in my insurance network which left me on my own to try and find someone to do my surgery. I started searching online on our insurance providers site and made an appointment with one doctor who I didn't like because I felt he was dismissive about my pain and didn't think I really had a problem. Then I called Northwestern- because I liked the hospital- and asked who specializes in scoliosis. They told me Dr. Ondra. Once I had met with him, I knew that I had found the doctor I wanted and Northwestern also had a support group for adults with scoliosis. I scheduled my surgery for alter in the fall and got myself ready, physically, mentally and emotionally, as best as I could.
From there we went to Cleveland Clinic for an assessment. At the time I was 17 and had no pain or injury from my scoliosis (other than the rib dislocation that just occurred) and I was told that because I was older, and probably not growing anymore, that the curvature would most likely not get any worse. Since I hadn't noticed the curvature before, I was thrilled to not have to do anything about it. Woo Hoo I was so intent on becoming a professional dancer I did not want to have to face the fact that I might have to make some special considerations because of my curvature. And I didn't want to think that I might not make it because my body wasn't perfect. So I ignored it and hoped it wouldn't be a problem.
Well, it eventually became a problem. I was the poster child of over-doing-it and not resting or taking care of myself. As I advanced in my training and the time I spent dancing and working out, I occasionally would strain my back(once every six months to a year). What would happen is that my shoulder and neck muscles would spasm so bad that I could not move my head or arms. This happened more predominately on the right side where my major curve was located. All I needed to do to treat it was rest, ice it and get a massage. Then all would be right with the world-or at least with my back.
Then one day I really injured my lower back. I don't remember exactly what I did or what was wrong with it, but it was pulled way out of line (that was the first I could notice in the mirror how crooked my body looked). It was very painful and I did physical therapy and traction to treat it. It was painful to walk and move for a long time and I had to admit that my body could not sustain the level of dancing activity that I wanted to do. So while I had stopped dancing to heal the injury, I decided to stop pursuing it as a career and went back to college to earn my bachelor's degree.
Throughout school, I remained active, took some dance classes and worked out a lot. The summer before I graduated, I completed the 1/2 triathlon in Chicago. I rarely had any back injuries (except for a week after the triathlon-I was carrying a very heavy book bag, working out everyday, didn't rest after the triathlon and tried to play ultimate Frisbee). I got a job after graduating working in an office and that was when I started to have more frequent back pain- the neck and shoulder muscles spasms where I couldn't move and they were happening with less provocation.
In January of 2004 I started getting debilitating headaches everyday. At first they started in the afternoon, but then they started coming on earlier and earlier to where they would start at 10 AM. I was taking 10-12 Tylenol a day to try to manage the headaches. I was not feeling back pain, so I didn't know what was happening. I had feeling it was related to my back but didn't know how. I started seeing doctors, took muscles relaxers and pain killers, went to a chiropractor and got massages. After about 2 months, I got relief.
What I discovered in that time was that my curvature was rapidly progressing and the headaches were tension headaches from the strained muscles in my upper back, neck and shoulders. I visited 3 different surgeons in orthopedic and neurosurgery. I was also able to get my old x-rays from when I was a teenager that allowed the doctors to see the progression. I had gone from a 40 degree thoracic curvature and a 33 degree lumbar curvature to a 54 degree thoracic curve and a 44 degree lumbar curve. That averaged out to be about 1 degree a year. That's considered a rapidly progressing curve, especially since I was no longer growing and only 30 years old.
I knew I wanted to have surgery because I was pretty miserable. I could not do any of the physical activities I liked to do, take dance class, bike, swim, lift weights, do cardio exercises, because I was constantly straining my muscles. I was spending all my extra time at doctors and chiropractor offices for treatment so that I could get through a day at work. I did not like living like this.
I was scared of a lot of things regarding surgery. It's not like you can change your mind after having a spinal fusion if you don't like the results. It was going to be a long and painful recovery. I was going to lose the mobility of my spine and I didn't know how this was going to affect my ability to do things. How would this affect me having children in the future? Would I ever be able to dance again? Would I have to have multiple surgeries?
So I decided to have a spinal fusion and scheduled it for later in the year. It was with the 3rd doctor I had seen. The first doctor I was referred to by my primary physician did not specialize in spinal fusion for scoliosis. He recommended someone who was not in my insurance network which left me on my own to try and find someone to do my surgery. I started searching online on our insurance providers site and made an appointment with one doctor who I didn't like because I felt he was dismissive about my pain and didn't think I really had a problem. Then I called Northwestern- because I liked the hospital- and asked who specializes in scoliosis. They told me Dr. Ondra. Once I had met with him, I knew that I had found the doctor I wanted and Northwestern also had a support group for adults with scoliosis. I scheduled my surgery for alter in the fall and got myself ready, physically, mentally and emotionally, as best as I could.
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