No Dancing & No Stilettos

“You have scoliosis.”

I met the chiropractor's revelation with a mixture of shock and relief. Shock because that was the last thing I expected to hear and relief because the pain I've been living with for the past few years finally has a name.

Scoliosis is a spinal condition where the spine is shaped like an S or a C instead of an I. In my case, it is the former. The curves nestle in my left shoulder blade and above my right hip. This in turn has led to uneven shoulders, a higher right hip, back muscles as hard as armour and frequent back and muscle aches. To add to the hodgepodge is my flat-footedness. Apart from interfering in my efforts to be the best athlete in school, my flat feet have also allowed the impact of the ground to travel straight up my knees and spine. An arch would have absorbed this impact. So how exactly did I live with the pain for so long? By holding steadfast to the myth that if you ignore it, it will go away.

I have always wondered about the stabbing pain in my lower back each time I sneezed, coughed and got up from lying on the floor or on my stomach. But since the pain had been a faithful companion since my teenage years, I diagnosed it as a i'm-still-alive-so-i-can-ignore-it-for-one-more-day kind of pain. Naturally, days turned into years and I grew accustomed to it.

Then I took up yoga and realised for the first time that my posture was rather odd. My right hip stuck out, my left back was more developed and my right shoulder blade jutted out a little. Again, I chalked it down to one of those unexplained but insignificant anomalies. I struggled in my yoga classes, unable to achieve certain poses that others glided into. I put it down to inflexibility and worked on lengthening my hamstrings and strengthening my back.

Last August, I was diagnosed with chronic muscle spasms in the upper back and told to seek treatment. Of course, I once again chanted my there's-always-tomorrow mantra. What finally led me to the chiropractor's chair was the increase in muscle pain after each yoga class. So now I know and everything has suddenly fallen into place.

Now I know why I can only find relief in a slumped posture. Why only the left side of my back hurts. Why I simply can't straighten my back in a headstand. Why I can walk painlessly only if I lie on my side.

I have packed up all my high heels to give away (doctor's VERY strict orders) and will now have to find confidence in every inch of my 154cm height. I have to abstain from Friday night jiving and have to wear a very uncomfrortable insole in my shoes for that dratted arch.

I'm writing this post in the hope that anyone who suffers from similar symptoms will not be as indifferent towards them as I was. Scoliosis isn't as obvious as a slipped disc. It's sneaky and very quiet. My chiropractor told me I was lucky to be in tune with enough with my body to know something was very wrong. And that I was lucky to see him in time. Had I waited a few years later, the spine would have become harder to manipulate and the discomforts would have escalated into excruciating pain.

In short, if you suspect something is wrong with your body go check it out ASAP. At best, it could turn out to be paranoia. At worst, it's not too late for treatment.