Schroth Method Assists Treatment of Scoliosis

Rosholt Woman Experiences Doubling of Breathing Capacity after Schroth Exercise Program

Rosholt resident Colleen Kluck, 54, realizes that with advances in technology and rehabilitation, her scoliosis would have been treated much differently today than it was when she was a child. But she's excited about a new form of scoliosis rehabilitation that's improving her physical quality of life.

Scoliosis is a 3-dimensional curvature of the back bones (vertebrae), sometimes giving the appearance that the person is leaning to one side. It is commonly found in two percent of women and .5 percent of men.

Raised in a family of 15 children, challenges were a normal part of life for Colleen. She and seven of her siblings have scoliosis, and six of them have had spinal rods inserted in their spines as a result of this condition.

Colleen was diagnosed with scoliosis in the seventh grade. To illustrate how far the treatment of scoliosis has come in the last 50 years, consider: from age 15 to 16, both of Colleen's arms and legs were placed in plaster casts, and she didn't walk for 23 months.

Early on, therapy for Colleen began in the form of a Milwaukee Brace, the first modern brace designed for the treatment of scoliosis. The Milwaukee Brace held a person's body erect and kept the head centered over the pelvis, with pads pushing against the curve of the spine. This was to keep the body straight and prevent progression of the spinal curve while the patient grew. In spite of the bracing and casting, Colleen eventually needed spinal surgery. "Today, they're able to detect scoliosis early, in school, but at the time I had it, they just fused the spine together," she said.

"I did well with my spine until age 40," said Colleen. "That's when the bone grafts that had been done 25 years earlier began to break. I then had steel rods placed the full length of my spine. The pain was excruciating."

A crack in the steel rods developed when she was 44, and everything had to be removed and redone. By the time Colleen began using the Schroth exercise program, her curve was significant. "About a year ago, I noticed that I was leaning toward the left, and it got to the point where my breast bone was touching my hip bone," said Colleen. This put extreme pressure on Colleen's lungs and on her capacity to breathe. She became dependent on an oxygen tank to assist with her breathing.

"The Schroth method of scoliosis was introduced to the United States about two years ago, and I started going to physical therapy at Saint Michael's Hospital," said Colleen.

"I had a 94 degree spinal curve, and I know they're working today with people that have 30-degree-and-under curves these days, with the Schroth program," said Colleen. The Schroth method incorporates exercise, breathing, and posture to help a person understand his or her spinal curve. It begins with education about the spine, leading eventually to corrective postures and exercises specific to that person's curves. The postures and exercises are applied to everyday activities, like walking and sitting.

"It's such a wonderful program that you can accommodate to what your needs are," she said. As part of the Schroth method, a person uses wall bars as a support, and begins to stretch their trunk. The mirror allows the person to see their arm position and to get a straight look at their posture. "It's breathing and stretching," said Colleen. "It's decreasing my pain, giving me room to breathe. You concentrate on getting taller. Just think taller. This is something I have to do the rest of my life," said added.

She said the staff at Saint Michael's talked her through the process, assisted with hands-on support, and helped her "breathe" through the process, which made a big difference in her rehabilitation. Colleen's physical therapist measured Colleen's lung capacity before and after her treatment and found that Colleen's lung capacity had doubled, and she was able to reduce her dependence on her oxygen tank.

Colleen used to visit three days a week for three months, but now is on her own. "Once you understand it, where you're positioned on those bars, and you can breathe correctly, then you're on your own. All I need are three lift bars," she said.

"I walk with a cane, but I garden, I go swimming twice a week...if you do these things twice a day, three times a week - think tall, stretch tall, breathe...it helps," she said.

Colleen says she attends exercise classes and sees women her age who might have scoliosis but aren't doing anything about it. "It's never too late to start the exercises," she said. "I just think of the young kids, my niece and nephew are doing the exercise at ages 11 and 12."

"My quality of life has improved...tons. I have a wonderful husband who has adapted to my needs, and he's seen me go through a lot," she laughed.