Girl, 13, Defies Need for Scoliosis Surgery, Takes Up Yoga and Breakdancing Instead!

A British teenager diagnosed with scoliosis has defied the need for major back surgery by taking up a serious yoga routine.

Mia Latham, 13, was diagnosed with an S-shaped spinal curve when she was just 11 years old.  Doctors told her she would need metal rods surgically inserted into her back to prevent damage to her heart and lungs.  But Mia’s mother, concerned about her young daughter undergoing major surgery, began looking for different treatment options:

“When the doctors told us about the operation they wanted her to have, we were horrified. Her young organs were being crushed as her spine continued to bend sideway, [but] I wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of her being sliced open. I spent hours trawling the internet before I came across a clinic that specializes in helping scoliosis sufferers improve the bend of their spine.’

At the Scoliosis SOS clinic, Mia learned yoga and various balance exercises.  Now, twelve months later, she has reduced the curve in her spine and doctors say she no longer needs an operation.  In fact, she’s actually taken up breakdancing—something she wouldn’t have been able to do if she had undergone the flexibility-sapping scoliosis surgery.

Mia says, “’Being able to avoid the surgery was amazing. There are so many awful things that can go wrong with the operation and for me it just wasn’t worth the risk.

‘I love dancing and if I had had the surgery this would have been seriously detrimental to my flexibility.’

Currently, the British National Health services are evaluating proposals for funding for a clinical study to assess exercise treatment for scoliosis.

Check out the rest of the Daily Mail article on Mia.