Blog on the Lillypad
Monday, October 13, 2003
 | The Dreaded "S" Word
At last today I was brave enough to put it into words at my chiropractor's office: Do I have scoliosis? Every time previously that he has gone from talking about "twist" in my spine and moved towards the S word, I've gone into deep denial. It's not scoliosis; it's a slight twist. But facts are facts. So I asked him. Yes, he told me, he can determine that the deviation from ideal is more than 10 degrees, and so by textbook definition it is scoliosis. And if the deviation is greater than 20 degrees, there is a chance that I will get worse as time goes by, inexorably. Only an x-ray will tell him the severity, and only an x-ray now compared to an x-ray from three or more years ago will tell him if it is worsening. I didn't say yes on the x-ray. If it's severe enough to be the root cause of all my current back trouble, than what's the point in having it confirmed and closing the door forever on the glorious kicks of tae kwon do? |
On the other hand, the lesson of all martial arts is to refine the spirit: and the martial artist with pure intent cannot make decisions based on fear. I may have to face the issue head on and learn how bad it is. And if it's not the scoliosis that is keeping me in chronic pain, then that's one factor eliminated so that I can keep searching.
