Life with Scoliosis

Scoliosis Awareness Month 2021 – Share Your Story: Emily

Posted on June 1, 2021June 9, 2021 by Louise

My Scoliosis Story - Emily Hi! My name is Emily, I am 12 years old. I love dancing, baking, drawing and my dog Jemima! I was first diagnosed in October 2019 when I went back to school and returned to my usual dance classes after the summer break. I noticed a twinging pain in my right shoulder, almost like pins and needles, and my ballet leotard wasn’t sitting quite right on my back. Some friends recommended a chiropractor, so we...Read More

Scoliosis Awareness Month: Competition

Posted on June 1, 2021May 30, 2021 by Louise

To celebrate June being scoliosis awareness month, I will be launching an exciting competition over on my Instagram, to begin on 1st June 2021. Throughout June, I'll be giving you the chance to WIN an item of scoliosis awareness merchandise from my Spring store. Make sure you are following me on Instagram, so you don't miss out! The lucky winner will be announced via Instagram at the start of July. Plus, if you fancy treating yourself, I’ll be giving 10%...Read More

Scoliosis Awareness Month 2021 – Share Your Story: Emily Hale

Posted on May 30, 2021June 9, 2021 by Louise

My story – spinal fusion and achievement against adversity My name is Emily Hale, I’m 23 years old and the Founder and MD of Build & Breathe, an online fitness studio tailored to those with Scoliosis & Spinal Fusions. Rather than just looking at the physical side of living with Scoliosis, we look at the whole person including the potential emotional impact of diagnosis and surgery. I was diagnosed at 14 years old – this can be a tricky time...Read More

Scoliosis Awareness Month 2021: Share Your Story – Sarah

Posted on May 21, 2021May 30, 2021 by Louise

June is scoliosis awareness month and as part of this, I will be sharing your inspiring scoliosis stories on my blog and via my Instagram. If you’d like to get involved and help to share awareness, please contact me 🙂 Share Your Scoliosis Story - Sarah Hi, I am Sarah, a 23 year old from Manchester in the UK! I was first diagnosed with Scoliosis at the age of 13 following a trip to hospital for an X-ray on my lungs as I...Read More

Scoliosis Awareness Month 2021: Share Your Story – Shannon

Posted on May 21, 2021May 30, 2021 by Louise

June is scoliosis awareness month and as part of this, I will be sharing your inspiring scoliosis stories on my blog and via my Instagram. If you’d like to get involved and help to share awareness, please contact me 🙂 Share Your Scoliosis Story - Shannon Hi my name is Shannon, I’m 19 years old. I have suffered with scoliosis and this my story and how my life is now. In July 2014, I was on holiday and my mom asked me to...Read More

7 Mistakes I Made When I was First Diagnosed with Scoliosis

Posted on May 10, 2021August 25, 2021 by Louise

This blog post is all about the mistakes I made when I was first diagnosed with scoliosis. Can you relate to any of these? Let me know in the comments. Isolating myself The first and major mistake I made when I was first diagnosed with scoliosis was isolating myself. I didn't tell anyone about my scoliosis for a long time. I used to spend most nights alone in my room feeling pretty down and upset about myself. If you have...Read More

Scoliosis Awareness Month 2021: Share Your Story – Imogen

Posted on May 9, 2021May 30, 2021 by Louise

As part of scoliosis awareness month 2021, I will be sharing your inspiring scoliosis stories on my blog and via my Instagram. Scoliosis awareness month is June. If you'd like to get involved and help to share awareness, please contact me :) Share Your Scoliosis Story - Imogen. Hi my name is Immi and I'm 21 years old. My story began back in early 2015 just before my 15th birthday. I started getting lower back pain but my mum told...Read More

A year in lockdown: 5 things I’ve learnt

Posted on March 26, 2021March 26, 2021 by Louise

This week, marks ONE YEAR of living amidst a pandemic. One whole year of being in and out of lockdown, social distancing, not seeing friends and family and working from home. So many people have lost their lives. It's been a surreal and difficult time for us all. A year ago, most of us thought that lockdown would be a temporary thing and perhaps last a month or two. Little did we know that it would last over a year...Read More

Scoliosis Poem – World Poetry Day

Posted on March 18, 2021May 19, 2021 by Louise

This weekend, it is World Poetry Day! So, I thought I'd get my creative juices flowing and write a little scoliosis poem. I call it "My curved spine." Now, I'm not much of a poet but I just wrote how I felt, which was therapeutic. The poem represents my love/hate relationship with my scoliosis and body. Over the years, my spine has caused me much pain, but it's made me who I am and I'm proud of the person I've...Read More

Happy February

Posted on February 18, 2021February 18, 2021 by Louise

So we are now halfway through February and almost a year into the Covid-19 pandemic. It's time for my monthly link-up with A Chronic Voice. I try to take part each month, as it is a chance to connect with fellow chronic illness/condition bloggers, whilst reflecting on the month. The writing prompts for this month are - Defining, Allocating, Uniting, Saving and Educating. So I'll try and arrange my thoughts for February around these themes! Defining I think almost a...Read More

10 Inspiring Women With Scoliosis

Posted on February 12, 2021February 13, 2021 by Louise

As March 8th is International Women's Day, I thought I would share 10 inspiring women with scoliosis. Hopefully, this post will show that, if you are a woman with scoliosis, it certainly doesn't have to hold you back. There is really no limit to what you can achieve! Lets join together and celebrate some amazingly inspiring women with scoliosis. 10 Inspiring Women with Scoliosis Eva Butterly Eva Butterly Eva is an amazingly inspirational scoliosis warrior. With severe scoliosis, she dedicates...Read More

Pilates for Scoliosis: Fusion Friendly Pilates

Posted on February 5, 2021February 5, 2021 by Louise

There is no argument that a strong core is important for those of us with scoliosis. A strong core helps to keep our backs strong, which in turn can reduce back pain. Pilates is the perfect exercise for scoliosis in this respect but it can be difficult to know which are the best exercises to do, especially if you have had a spinal fusion. Pilates For Scoliosis Emily is the founder of Build & Breathe Pilates and works predominately with...Read More

Glute Exercises for Runners: My Top 10

Posted on January 31, 2021January 31, 2021 by Louise

Hi everyone, As you may (or may not!) be aware, I love to run. Over the years (post spinal fusion), I have ran 6 half marathons, countless 10k's and over 60 parkruns. Pandemic aside, I'm a member of a local run club and was training for a marathon this time last year. Over the last few months, I have not been able to run due to an injury to (I think) a tendon in my right leg, which causes ankle...Read More

Dealing with Anxiety

Posted on January 29, 2021January 29, 2021 by Louise

Like a lot of people, I have been struggling with anxiety recently, more so over the last few months. The uncertainty around lockdown, social isolation and the pandemic in general have (unsurprisingly) resulted in an increase in mental health issues, and also, a general awareness of them too. I have always been a worrier, ever since I was a child. My main anxiety has always been around my health. As a child, I remember checking myself for breast cancer and...Read More

Your Inspiring Stories: Lovaine Cohen

Posted on January 21, 2021January 21, 2021 by Louise

Lovaine was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) about 20 years ago. As a result, she has lived with chronic pain for a very long time. She's also had both of her hips replaced and has some fusion in her upper neck. In this post, read about Lovaine's journey with AS and how she changed her victim mentality mindset. Lovaine's Story I have lived for over 20 years with Ankylosing Spondylitis with difficulties, twists, and turns. I was a healthy kid...Read More