The Filum Disease and Idiopathic Scoliosis in the adolescence

Observations on idiopathic Scoliosis based on a work presented by Gioia Luè, psychologist, at the 8th CSSf Meeting in Mâcon, France, in 2014. 

 

Patients with scoliosis, in the 12 to 18 age group, talk to us and express their daily life problems and disappointments due to this disease.

The delicacy of their relationship with their changing bodies during adolescence is well known. If to this precarious balance a misalignment of the vertebral column is added, provoking an incorrect posture that is less attractive and requires certain special care, it is readily apparent that the difficulties can go from being physical to social and psychological.

Classic conservative treatments for scoliosis involve wearing corsets for many hours during day and night, in some cases up to 23 hours, for very long periods, and the patient needs to also participate in rehabilitation and physiotherapy programs and which involves a lot of effort, time and energy. In some cases young people who are suffering from this disease have to be operated using arthrodesis and other fixation surgeries of very complex, risky and invasive nature.

This type of experience, along with fatigue and other symptoms characteristic of the disease such as pain, can lead the young person to other problems such as isolation, marginalization from his/her peers, lack of initiative, apathy, depression, mood swings; all these mood related problems that in turn lead to an alteration of information processing and consequently to school problems. In psychologically more severe cases, discomfort, deterioration and anxious-depressive symptoms can see an increase. This picture is interpreted as a correlation with eating disorders typical of the same age by some authors.

The approach to Scoliosis at our Institut is etiological in nature and has a neurological - neurosurgical viewpoint, as well as being based on a deep understanding that is the foundation for the therapeutic relationship with the patient.

The misalignment of the spine, known as idiopathic scoliosis or kyphosis, is indeed due to an abnormal traction of the Filum Terminale, defined as the Filum Disease.

The treatment applied is etiological; it eliminates the cause of the disease with a minimally invasive surgery.

If the Filum System^® is applied before the spine curvature is influenced by the gravitational force (beyond a certain angle), evolution of the pathology is halted completely. It is therefore very important to choose treatment as soon as possible, before the disease sees an evolution, which is sometimes sudden and unexpected, and can take place during the age of physical development.

With more serious cases on the other hand, that already have the indication to fix the spine at orthopaedic level, the use of the sectioning of the filum terminale is to eliminate the cause and to prevent the risks involved in the other procedure, being mainly paraplegia.

To date, the Institut Chiari & Siringomielia & Escoliosis de Barcelona has had excellent results in this line.

Some curvatures of few degrees have been straightened slightly even without subsequent physiotherapy.

 But in case of the scoliosis with greater curvatures, as the adolescents are in constant growth phase, the patients’ cooperation is needed to follow through with the exercises and recommended rehabilitation program after the Filum System^® surgery. Sometimes, the corsets can be avoided once the cause is removed, in other cases only the time plan for therapy with them can be reduced and their therapeutic efficacy can be improved.

Usually young people collaborate with more motivation once our method has been applied, because they recognize that their quality of life, related to the symptoms they previously had, improves.

In addition, it increases their hope when they see that they do not continue to get worse as before, and that the development of the vertebral misalignment has stopped.

As we work on making the Filum System^® health method widely known, our purpose is also to increasingly reach children and adolescents who are suffering from Scoliosis, accompany them with an effective treatment and prevent severe curvatures before they manifest themselves and it is too late.

 

With the dissemination of the Filum System^®, our purpose is also to get ever closer to children and adolescents with scoliosis, accompany them with effective treatment and prevent severe curvatures before they manifest itself and it is too late.

Bibliography:

Banks and Kerns; 1996; Psychological Bullettin, 97, 18-34

Castel, Salvat, 2008; Contemporary hipnosis, 26(1), 48-59

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and eating disorders: is there a relation? Results of a cross-sectional study. 

Zaina F, Donzelli S, Lusini M, Vismara L, Capodaglio P, Neri L, Negrini S. 

Royo-Salvador MB. [Syringomyelia, scoliosis and idiopathic Arnold-Chiari malformations: a common etiology]

Rev Neurol. 1996 Aug;24(132):937-59. Review. Spanish.

Royo-Salvador MB. [A new surgical treatment for syringomyelia, scoliosis, Arnold-Chiari malformation, kinking of the brainstem, odontoid recess, idiopathic basilar impression and platybasia]. Rev Neurol. 1997 Apr;25(140):523-30. Spanish.