Scoliosis

“I was spared a stiff back”

Around three percent of all children and adolescents suffer from lateral curvature of the spine. A young sufferer talks about her treatment.

17-year-old Lena Teichmeister suffered from a severe deformation of the spine, which became noticeable during puberty. "In 2015, everything was still normal and straight. Then I had a huge growth spurt with severe neck pain, but it disappeared again. I didn't think anything of it at the time. Within 2-2.5 years, however, back pain kept recurring and steadily increased. I could hardly move and sitting for long periods at school was almost unbearable," reports the young woman from Lower Austria.

Deformation of the spine got steadily worse
At the beginning of this year, it was externally apparent that her spine was making a slight curve. Then came the point at which everything changed for Lena. "The X-ray examination at the hospital showed a severe curvature, which continued to worsen dramatically. That was a big shock," she says. According to the experts, wearing a corset was no longer a solution for almost full-grown patients with such severe deformity as in Lena Teichmeister's case, and they advised the then 16-year-old to undergo surgery.

The X-ray examination at the hospital revealed a severe curvature, which continued to worsen dramatically. That was a big shock.

Lena Teichmeister

If the deformity is severe, this operation should be performed as early as possible to prevent it from progressing. The standard method ends in the stiffening of longer sections of the spine, but this restricts the usual mobility and patients have to adapt their movement patterns in order to cope with everyday life. "I've always done a lot of sport: rhythmic gymnastics, apparatus gymnastics, horse riding. The idea of a stiffened spine put me off. A new method was mentioned at the Speising Orthopaedic Hospital in Vienna," reports the teenager.

"In the 'dynamic scoliosis correction' technique, the vertebrae are fitted with screws in the same way as for stiffening, but the screws are then connected with a special rope made of medical plastic instead of metal rods. This allows the curvature to be corrected and the spine still remains mobile," explains scoliosis specialist Dr. Stefan Schenk, senior physician at the Spine Center at the Speising Orthopaedic Hospital in Vienna.

Mobility retained thanks to "dynamic" technique
However, the correction options are limited due to the material used and not every form of scoliosis can be treated in this way. In almost fully grown adolescents, the rope is applied under high tension to correct the curvature. The second application option is for patients who still have significant growth potential: By using the rope on the outwardly curved (convex), longer side, growth can be inhibited. The shorter side, which is curved inwards (concave), catches up and the scoliosis "grows out".

Lena quickly decided to have the operation, which took place in July of this year. She explains: "The operation took a long time, I was in intensive care for 5 days, then I was transferred to the normal ward. After 10 days, I was allowed to go home again. Initially I had to take it easy, underwent physiotherapy and was soon able to get back to everyday life. I still don't have full mobility, but it's getting better and better. I do regular exercises to strengthen my muscles and make sure I keep an upright, straight posture - especially when sitting." As this method does not aim to stiffen the vertebrae, the rope may break in the medium term. "We even expect this to happen, but we hope that everything will have stabilized sufficiently by then. In any case, I'm doing well, I can do sport again and would like to start riding again soon," says Lena Teichmeister, delighted with her newfound quality of life.