Scoliosis
Author: Helen Gracie - SCENAR Health Pty LtdDate: 26th November 2010
SCENAR Therapy changed my daughter's life.
In January 2003, my daughter Amy was 10 years old and experiencing general health problems. She was fatigued, had mood swings and had shooting pains in her legs. She had previously enjoyed excellent health therefore we were concerned and began seeking treatment. Our Chiropractor recommended we get some x rays of her spine as he thought she was developing scoliosis.
In January of 2003 she had her first x-ray. This showed a 10-degree curvature in her spine. We were told to wait for 12 weeks and re x -ray. No treatments helped her pain/discomfort. Massage gave her some temporary relief. After 12 weeks her x rays showed her curvature was now 20 degrees. Such rapid decline is unusual and extremely serious. She was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon for evaluation. She was immediately put into a full body brace; she was required to wear the brace for 20 hours a day. Amy was told to stop all impact sports and had to cheer from the sideline in her netball. In the hours Amy was not in the brace she swam for one hour, chiropractic appointments 3 afternoons and we home treated with Tens machine 3 afternoons a week to supplement the bracing therapy and manipulations. Amy also had regular Clinical Pilate's sessions with a Physiotherapist. She was eating an organic wheat free diet because there is anecdotal evidence that scoliosis is sometimes related to poor nutrient absorption. In April 2003 Chris Mortensen commenced coming to our home to give Amy an Enar treatment before she went to sleep. The Enar therapy helped balance her mentally and physically and relieved the pain and discomfort caused by the back brace. Amy enjoyed her treatments and looked forward to Chris coming to see her. We were able to stop the Tens treatment. This was a relief to Amy as she found it very uncomfortable.
By July she was x- rayed again and her scoliosis was now 28 degrees. She was given a diagnostic MRI that showed no underlying pathology causing the curve (No Cancerous tumours pushing out her spine/ no Chiari Malformation). At this time Amy lost her reflexes in her knees and she was scheduled for an urgent clinic appointment with The West Mead Children's Hospital Neuro Muscular Department.
At about this time we had decided to cancel our long planned ski holiday Amy's favourite sport of all. Our Specialist advised us Perhaps you should still go as planned - let her ski if she feels she can do it in the brace this may be the last year she will be able to let her enjoy as much of her life as she can her muscles are degenerating and there is nothing we can do to stop that she may be wheel chair bound by next year. There was talk of operations to implant a steel rod to support her spine.
At West Mead, neurologists examined Amy and preliminary tests were done. She could not be diagnosed with any known disorder without a muscle biopsy being taken of her spine. At this point I held up my hand and said ENOUGH!! The biopsy would require a section of her spinal muscle to be removed in order to establish an accurate diagnosis. However even with an accurate diagnosis they could offer her no treatment.
At this time; Chris Mortensen asked if he could commence SCENAR treatment with Amy as he felt he could give her a more targeted treatment and hopefully not only relieve her pain but also perhaps restore function to her spinal muscles. To be completely honest we felt we would try anything.
Over the next 8 weeks Chris treated Amy and by August we began to see some improvement in her posture. She was increasingly more energised, happier and her sleep improved. Her SCENAR treatments were now also supplemented with an Energy Blanket. Amy was particularly fond of the blanket. She would comment after Chris had left that she was happy. This would bring tears to my eyes as it was usually said while I was strapping my little girl back into a thick plastic neck to hip brace which she would have to stay in for the next 20 hours. The nights after the SCENAR Treatment and MTB were always Amy's best nights sleep.
Towards the end of August, Amy also experienced some alarming but welcome spasms in her kneecaps. It looked as though they would jump right off her knee she was thrilled and scared at the same time. I didn't know what to think. At her next Hospital Clinic appointment the Neuro Conductor tests showed Amy now had NORMAL reflexes in her knees and connectivity in her spinal muscles.
We all became a little more hopeful. SCENAR treatments continued.
In early September 2003, just a few days before Amy turned 11, she had a problem with the brace. One of the buckles broke. I took it back to be fixed and within 2 days it broke again. I asked the technician what could be the reason the buckle kept breaking and he was not sure as he thought the only explanation would be that her spine was different from when the cast was done and that perhaps we should ascertain if she needed a new brace (at $4000 and a big ordeal for Amy each time I was not happy about that!) Plus I was worried it meant her spine had collapsed further and that Surgery would again be spoken of as the only course of treatment for her. A new x-ray was ordered. I also asked Amy if she had experienced any changes she could feel. It was at this time she told me she had also had the spasms in her Spine a few days before and that she was feeling OK even when the brace was off. I left it a few days before collecting the brace and Amy still seemed to feel OK without the brace (Previously she would ask to have it back on within 3 hours of having it removed the brace kept her internal organs safe and also she felt very tired when she didn't have it on.)
We contacted Chris and he suggested we get her x rayed again. We obtained a referral and she had her first x rays that showed a completely straight spine. The orthopaedic surgeon was concerned that the result was because of a residual effect from the brace and asked us to repeat her x ray 2 days later. By the time Amy's last x rays were done she had not been in the brace for nearly a week. The second set confirmed the result. Her spine was straight!!! No more brace!
Since then Amy has had some growing pains and each time she has had a SCENAR treatment. There have been no further Spinal problems and she is now a happy 13 years old in Year 8 of High School. She enjoys skiing, netball, swimming, dancing and school. She once again enjoys excellent health.
We are forever grateful to Chris Mortensen for treating Amy. Chris assures us that Amy did the healing herself all he did was encourage the body in the right direction. One thing is for sure Amy couldn't have done it without him!
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