At the age of 12, Erica McLeod was diagnosed with scoliosis.  She was scared and unfamiliar with the diagnosis.  One year later at age 13, she underwent a spinal fusion to treat her scoliosis. After her healing and recovery, she felt ashamed and embarrassed by her scar.  It took many years for her to start to feel comfortable in her skin.  Today, Erica is a proud mother of 4 children (two who have also been diagnosed with scoliosis).   Her knowledge and experience have shaped her approach to the treatment of scoliosis in her own children.  She was able to ..read more

Many people have never heard of scoliosis before they are diagnosed. That was not the case with 13-year-old Ava Krukonis. “My entire life, my doctor has been closely checking me for scoliosis because of my family’s history with it,” Ava says. Her aunt had had scoliosis, but for years Ava showed no signs of the condition and put it out of her mind. That all changed in June 2016. “My dance teacher called me over and randomly started feeling my back and hips,” Ava says. “I didn’t know what was happening, but she told me to get checked for scoliosis. After going to two or three doctors, turns out ..read more

Physical therapy is used to increase function, range of motion, and strength in a specific part of the body. When paired with other treatments or interventions, it can help improve outcomes and have longer-lasting results. There are many physical therapy specialties, and physical therapy for scoliosis requires a specific training program that certifies an individual to practice in that sub-specialty. In celebration of Scoliosis Awareness Month, we interviewed Amy Sbihli, MPT, DPT, the founder and director of Spine Academy Physical Therapy, co-owner of BSPTS-North America, and a practicing Rigo ..read more

Roxy is 12 years old and has weakness in her hind legs, has undergone four surgeries, and at one point almost lost a limb. Fortunately, surgery saved her leg, so she still has all four. That’s right: Roxy is a dog, and her mom, Hillary Sussman, is using her story to help differently abled kids gain more confidence and overcome their physical limitations. Hillary has been a physical therapist for 23 years. After working with so many clients with disabilities, she knew Roxy’s story could inspire and help those dealing with limb loss. So she wrote a book, called Roxy and Maliboo: It’s Okay to Be ..read more

At age 4, Kendall was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic scoliosis. Her mom bought her a Higgy Bear to help her cope with wearing her brace and to use as an educational tool when explaining the brace to her peers. Kendall, now age 10, says her Higgy Bear helped her feel less alone when she got her brace, so she decided to help other kids get their own Higgy Bears. For several years, Kendall and her family have been running a lemonade stand to raise funds for various causes. When they started the stand in the summer of 2017, they were fundraising for lung cancer research in honor of Kendall’s g ..read more

When Robin found out her son James’s clinician, Shelley Sherbondy, CPO, was leaving her current clinic in New Haven, her reaction was immediate. “I told her, ‘Tell me where you’re going—we’ll follow you,’” says Robin. Shelley was moving to the new Boston Orthotics & Prosthetics clinic outside of New Haven in Orange, CT. It opened in the fall of 2022, becoming Boston O&P’s first clinic in Connecticut. James and Robin were among the first patients. James, 4, has spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and a few other conditions. Robin and James had been seeing Shelley since James ..read more

Let me introduce you to an exceptional, inspiring teenager: Ava from emBrace. Ava was 11 years old and entering middle school when she was first diagnosed with scoliosis. Scoliosis is a musculoskeletal disorder with a sideways (lateral) curvature of the spine. There are a variety of treatment approaches and combinations for scoliosis: physical therapy, scoliosis bracing, and surgery. In Ava's treatment, she was prescribed a scoliosis brace. With any student entering middle school, the look and appearance of her brace were critical to compliance with her scoliosis treatment. The designs and pat ..read more

When Aisha Mawusi was pregnant with her daughter and went for her first ultrasound, doctors told her that one of her child’s legs looked shorter than the other. When Zarah was born in July 2017, what they saw on the ultrasound was confirmed—her left thigh was significantly shorter than the right. In technical terms, the condition is called proximal femoral focal deficiency or PFFD, a birth defect in which the upper part of the femur (thigh) bone and hip socket are either malformed or missing, which causes one leg to be shorter than the other. A month after Zarah was born, Aisha went to see Dr ..read more

Sarah Cunzolo, COA, CFo, CPed is a Certified Orthotic Assistant, Certified Fitter-orthotics, Certified Pedorthist who specializes in pediatric orthotics among other things at the Boston O&P clinic in Wexford, PA. In this Q&A, Sarah shares how she got into the field, her love for patient care and how she continues to grow her expertise. How is treating children different than treating adults? What special challenges does it involve? Treating children is definitely different than treating adults, but in my opinion, more rewarding. It takes creativity and a sharp eye to see what they ..read more

Paige in her brace When Paige’s parents took her to her yearly checkup at age 5, her pediatrician, Dr. Kimberly Kinney at Orangetown Pediatrics, noticed a small bulge in her shoulder. “It was so subtle, nobody really understands how she saw it,” says Paige’s mom Tennille Marino. Dr. Kinney recommended Paige see a specialist. Paige saw Dr. Avrum Joffe at Preferred Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, where an X-ray showed a spinal curve of 16 degrees. After an MRI to rule out any underlying conditions, Dr. Joffe confirmed that Paige had juvenile idiopathic scoliosis, a type of scoliosis that accounts ..read more