We are so grateful to all our amazing fundraisers for your fantastic efforts to support us. Thank you for all your hard work; we really couldn’t continue our work without you. We greatly appreciate all the donations we receive, and you are vital in ensuring we can continue our important work of, providing support and information for people with scoliosis, and now for research too. Lisa Kellighan raised £348 running a yoga and pilates retreat. Amelie Townsend raised £620 participating in the London Halloween Walk 2023. Louise Laurie raised £3,667 participating in a 10 day trek to Machu Pi ..read more

We are asking you to support your student who needs to wear a spinal brace to prevent their spinal curve (scoliosis) getting worse and avoid the need for surgery. A meeting with your student and their parent(s) would be helpful. They need to wear the brace for 20 hours each day until they finish growing and there will need to be regular hospital visits to adjust the brace and monitor the curve with x-rays. This is a big commitment for them and their family. Please try to reduce any anxiety the student may have wearing a spinal brace and potentially feeling different from the other students. H ..read more

Michèle Mendelssohn, author and Professor of English and American Literature at Oxford University Can you imagine feeling wonderful about your scoliosis? For many – myself included – that’s a stretch. But can you imagine feeling a bit better about your scoliosis? Perhaps that feels more manageable. This new column is going to feature the things you have done, big and small, ordinary and extraordinary, that have helped you feel more comfortable in your body, and more at ease with yourself. The idea for this column came to me while listening to Just One Thing with Dr Michael Mosley, a programme ..read more

Our co-chairman Ian Nelson is fundraising for SAUK and celebrating International Scoliosis Awareness Day on the 24th of June by cycling 200 miles in a single day between sunrise and sunset, the longest ride he has ever attempted! Ian is a former surgeon and long-time Chairman of the British Scoliosis Research Foundation before the recent merger with SAUK. He wants to celebrate the merger of the two charities and raise funds to go towards funding research into scoliosis and supporting patients with the condition. Please support him in this fantastic challenge!  The post Our co-chairman Ian ..read more

We are excited to announce that as of 1st January 2023, the Scoliosis Association UK (SAUK) and the British Scoliosis Research Foundation (BSRF) have merged. BSRF has, for the past 50 years, promoted and funded high-quality research into scoliosis in the UK, whilst SAUK has worked to raise awareness of scoliosis and provide support, advice, and information to people affected by scoliosis in the UK. The two charities have been affiliated since 2006, but in an effort to become one unified charity that supports both those affected by scoliosis, and the future of scoliosis research, we have made t ..read more

In March 2023, I will take on a tough trek to Machu Picchu, Peru, to raise money for the Scoliosis Association UK. When I was 14, I was diagnosed with severe scoliosis, and in my case, it was severe enough that I had to undergo spinal fusion surgery in 2010. My spine is now held in place with two titanium rods and over 20 titanium screws, and although my spine is straighter than before, I now cant bend the fused parts of my back (T3-L3). It took me years to recover from the surgery, I had to learn the basics again like how to walk again with my new spine, and I struggled with simple things lik ..read more

The SAUK offices and Helpline will be closed from noon on Friday 23rd December 2022, reopening at 9:30am on Tuesday 3rd January 2023. While we’re closed, you can still email info@sauk.org.uk and we will respond when we return.  All of us at SAUK wish you all a very Merry Christmas and our best wishes for the New Year! The post Christmas closures appeared first on Scoliosis Association ..read more

A £2.5m research study is now open in the UK, looking at the effectiveness of a night-time brace in the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Led by Sheffield Children’s Hospital, the Bracing Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (BASIS) study is currently accepting patients from 13 NHS Trusts across the UK, with another 6 Trusts in set up, hoping to join in the very near future. The “full-time” brace is the current back brace offered within the NHS, and this is usually prescribed to be worn for 20 hours a day. Although in many patients, it stops the curve reaching a size where surgery would ..read more

Scoliosis is when the spine curves to the side. It is not a disease. It just means that in an often otherwise healthy person the spine is curved or twisted. It is not infectious or contagious. It does not develop because of anything a person did or did not do. Scoliosis can happen at any age. However, the most common time is around age 10 to 15 to coincide with adolescence. In most cases the cause is unknown. Sometimes the scoliosis is due to a neuromuscular condition, such as muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy. Scoliosis can also develop as part of a syndrome, such as Marfan syndrome. Scoli ..read more

Rachel Adam and Kirsty Sutter, advance spinal orthotists, Scottish National Spine Service If you have been diagnosed with scoliosis, one of the treatment options is spinal bracing. Your spinal consultant will determine if this is an appropriate treatment for you and if so they will send a referral to orthotics. Availability and treatment may differ depending on the spinal unit you attend. An orthosis is an externally applied device used to modify the structural or functional characteristics of the neuro-muscular and skeletal systems. A spinal brace is a type of orthosis which is used to treat ..read more