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National Scoliosis Awareness Month takes place every June to highlight the growing need for public education, early detection, and awareness about Scoliosis.
Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine mostly diagnosed in children and teens. While scoliosis can occur in people with conditions such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, the cause of most childhood scoliosis is not known.
Stephanie Silverthorn and Nicole Beattie are two mothers from North Bay whose daughters were diagnosed with scoliosis, and the two came together to launch Scoliosis Awareness North Bay and mark the first-ever Scoliosis Awareness Day in the Gateway City.
Silverthorn and Beattie were joined by friends, family, and members of the community at the launch at the YMCA in North Bay last week.
“This day is amazing. I'm so grateful to see this much community involvement and this much community support. As a parent of a child diagnosed with scoliosis, I’m so proud that we are providing resources and awareness for the community,” says Silverthorn whose daughter Ella has scoliosis.
During the launch, Silverthorn told a story about a family whose daughter was also diagnosed, and they spent time with the Silverthorns to tell them what to expect with Ella’s condition.
“It’s incredibly important to have those connections, especially in a community like ours that doesn’t have specialized health care and often it can be a six-month wait before families can get in to see a specialist at Sick Kids Hospital (in Toronto) or CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa) so being able to connect with a family that had already experienced this journey, it was really crucial in making us feel more comfortable and having a sense of what to expect, and so we want to provide that support to other families.”
Silverthorn says they noticed a curvature in Ella's spine last year.
“She has been an absolute star throughout her treatment program. She wears a brace every night and she manages that beautifully. We see a chiropractor regularly and Ella’s done an incredible job of not letting it impact her day-to-day life – we're just super proud of her.”
Ella plays for the U13 Typhoon of the North Bay Youth Volleyball Club Jr. Lakers Volleyball and her teammates came out to support her during the launch and they were the first to sign up as Healthy Spine Ambassadors, which is a pledge to have their parent or guardian monitor their spine monthly for signs of scoliosis.
“They have signed this pledge form which is huge for us because being aware of the symptoms early is so important,” says Silverthorn. “As parents of teenagers, we don’t see our children's bodies in the same way we would when they are little – so for teenagers to be aware and for the parents to be aware it is really important.”
“Steph had the brilliant idea to have ambassadors to be part of our journey. So, we are asking sports teams dance troupes, and schools to join our awareness campaign to really help families and children understand the complications that can happen with scoliosis and how it can be prevented by looking at your child's spine regularly,” says Beattie.
“We’re really pleased to have launched the first Scoliosis Awareness Day in North Bay, because awareness and education as well as early detection is key in preventing uncomfortable bracing or, in more severe cases, surgery.”
Beattie says her daughter Ava was diagnosed with scoliosis in May of 2023.
“My daughter was on stage and my husband noticed her posture didn’t look right, she was leaning over to one side. We had her checked here by a local specialist and had x-rays done and realized that she had severe Scoliosis. We were on a waitlist for almost a year before Ava was able to receive surgery and her curvature increased by over 12 degrees during that wait,” she says.
“We had to see the specialist in Ottawa at CHEO. There were a lot of trips to Ottawa which resulted in a lot of expensive travel bills, hotel bills, and wait times before the surgery happened.”
Ava says she’s feeling a lot better since her surgery in January of 2024.
“There was some pain the longer I waited for the surgery and doing physical activities like skiing would make it hurt pretty bad. The doctors took really good care of me. There’s a great team at CHEO and I’m back to doing what I love,” says Ava who is a member of Renee’s Dance Connection in North Bay.
“We have a really good team here at Active Running and Therapy who does Ava’s physio, and we also see a therapist at HANDS the Family Help Network. We’ve been able to correct her upper spine, but she still has a 48-degree curve in her lumbar spine, but through regular exercise and physio, we are going to be able to correct that,” says Beattie.
Lisa Despres, is a registered Physio Therapist and the owner of Active Running and Therapy Centre in North Bay and she was at the launch at the YMCA along with Mayor Peter Chirico, Dr. Maryse Boulay of Cor Maximus, and Lina Audette, a Physio Therapist at Active Running and Therapy Centre.
“Any child that comes into the clinic, we do a screening with them to see if there is a curvature that requires more attention,” says Despres. “Then we look at seeing if we can correct it through exercise or posture correction and then based on the treatment they have, if it’s a more invasive treatment we look at desensitizing and trying to provide the best information possible.”
Despres says it is important for kids to be active to maintain a good strong spine. She adds an awareness day such as this is incredibly important for the community.
“I think it’s important for parents to be aware that they can easily screen for scoliosis, and you can also reach out to your health care provider for suggestions on how to do that screening. Early screening allows for early prevention and the reduction in the severity of the treatment needed.”
For more information you can check out the Scoliosis Awareness North Bay page here.
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