Newswise — Terri Sanders loved being active, but never thought she'd be able to try mountain bike adventure racing. The reason? As she aged, the scoliosis she'd had since a child was progressing to the point where she hurt every day. "I had an active life, but I definitely paid for it," she says.
Now 33, Sanders had considered surgery for her scoliosis years ago, but the thought of having rods forcing her back ramrod-straight, plus months in a cast or brace, persuaded her to live with the condition instead.
But two years ago she met with Alexis Shelokov, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon and medical director of the Baylor Scoliosis Center. Dr. Shelokov explained how new surgical treatments could fuse vertebrae in her back, easing both her pain and the increasing curve in her spine.
Surgeons on the Baylor Plano medical staff fused five vertebrae in Sanders' lower back. "It's been absolutely amazing - that's no exaggeration," she says. "A few days after surgery I was walking."
Sanders followed her physical therapy regimen to make sure her spine healed properly and stayed strong, and once she got the OK she bought a mountain bike. "Before, I never would have tried trail-running - I wouldn't have wanted to push through the pain afterward," she says. "And now that I've tried it, I've fallen in love with the sport."
She notices cosmetic benefits to the surgery as well, as she no longer has to dress to accommodate the curve in her spine. Plus, Sanders now has the option to have children if she chooses. Earlier, doctors had told her she should avoid pregnancy because the excess weight would worsen her scoliosis.
Many people believe, as Sanders did, that they have to live with their scoliosis. "They used to teach that adults didn't hurt, adult scoliosis didn't progress and adults couldn't be fixed," Dr. Shelokov explains.
Now, diagnostic techniques and tools are dramatically better than they were even 10 years ago, and surgery is typically faster, with better results, less pain and quicker recovery.
"Maybe there's another person like me out there who's scared or hesitant," Sanders says. "I'd push them to talk to someone. There's nothing I regret about it."
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