With timely and effective treatment, scoliosis (or curvature of the spine) can be almost invisible. For example, Shailene Woodley, 17, who stars as pregnant Amy Juergens in the ABC Family hit The secret life of the American teenager, has spent much of her life in the spotlight. The California native broke into the business at the age of five and later played young Jordan Crossing the Jordan and Kaitlin Cooper in the first season of The OC. What her fans may not know is that she has just worn a plastic brace from chest to hip for two years – since she was diagnosed with scoliosis over the summer at the age of 15.
“We were getting ready to go swimming and I was wearing a bikini. … My best friend said, ‘Shai, your spine is weird,'” Woodley says. With scoliosis, the spine may look like an “S” or a “C” from the back. Other indicators include uneven shoulders, a prominent shoulder blade, or an uneven waist.
Her mother took her to the doctor for a diagnosis. “I laugh under pressure,” says Woodley, whose spine had a 38-degree curvature (if it had been more than 45 degrees, she would have been a candidate for surgery). “So I was fine. It wasn’t until the fourth week of wearing a brace that I said, ‘Wow, this is too bad.’” But ultimately the treatment was successful, and in December she took off the brace for good.
Causes of scoliosis
Scoliosis affects approximately 2% of the population. Most cases are so minor that no treatment is required. Woodley’s scoliosis, called idiopathic, is the most common type, for which there is no known cause, although it runs in families and researchers are trying to determine its origins. About 20% of scoliosis cases are related to birth defects, disease, or traumatic injury. And no one knows why, but girls are more likely to get the condition.
Treating Scoliosis
In moderate cases, such as Woodley’s, the treatment is to brace yourself to prevent the curvature from getting worse; she wore the brace 18 hours a day. She took it off to go swimming, go out with friends and when she was filming. Despite the discomfort and discomfort — “It’s like braces in your mouth. You go in and it gets tight and it hurts for a while” — Woodley knew that, if left untreated, scoliosis can lead to serious medical problems, including back pain, deformity, fatigue and, in severe cases, problems with heart and lung function.
Her advice for people recently diagnosed with scoliosis? ‘There is no cure, but the only thing they know about that works is the brace. So follow the instructions, don’t be afraid and be careful.”
