Not only surgery – scoliosis can be treated differently

Prof. Zbigniew Śliwiński, a national consultant in the field of physiotherapy, emphasizes that scoliosis is not a defect of posture. It’s a systemic disease. It can affect the functioning of organs located in the chest, as well as in the abdominal cavity.

– That is why it needs to be treated conservatively, and in cases not amenable to correction, also surgically – he says. He adds that the surgery, although effective, carries a certain risk of complications, and the spine, stiffened with implants, does not develop properly and, in addition, limits the child’s motor activity.

Non-surgical treatment of scoliosis

When prof. Śliwiński heard a lecture by prof. Santos Sastre Fernandez, who presented the effects of treating idiopathic scoliosis in children with his method, was surprised. The Spaniards manage to help many more children without surgery. Of Professor Sastre’s 2600 patients, only 3% had to undergo surgery. In Poland, children with scoliosis of 40 degrees and more are qualified for surgery and a large proportion of them undergo surgery. Prof. Until now, Śliwiński treated scoliosis with various methods, but he did not have such good results. – I bought a book by prof. Sastre, I translated it into Polish and published it in Poland. Then prof. Sastre helped me train myself in this method directly in Barcelona. The next step was training for doctors and physiotherapists in Poland – he says.

Treatment of nasal obstruction

About becoming a physiotherapist prof. Śliwiński already knew in primary school. – As a child, I treated my nasal congestion for three years. Finally, in Żagań, where I lived, my mother took me to a military hospital. Iontophoresis and light therapy were used to treat my nose. After three months, I started to breathe through my nose. I thought that physical therapy was – like magic – a wonderful science, she recalls. He finished physiotherapy at the University of Physical Education in Wrocław. It was then that he got married and became a father. However, this did not prevent him from pursuing his academic career. After graduation, although he had to work off the scholarship he had received earlier in the hospital in Lubin, he obtained a doctorate and then defended his habilitation thesis.

Manual therapy in the treatment of insomnia

One of the greatest professional and therapeutic successes of prof. Śliwiński was helping a patient who had been suffering from insomnia for four years. He was treated in several neurological clinics in Poland and abroad. – He showed up for me after the fifth visit to the clinic in Vienna. I asked what he expected of me as he had all possible diagnostic tests done. I analyzed his documentation. I realized that due to increased muscle tension and pathological posture patterns, he had a functionally blocked motor segment connecting his head and neck. Thanks to the manual therapy method, I started this segment and the patient called the next day with the information that he was sleeping all night – says the professor. Repeating the manual procedures several times and correcting the body posture caused the problem to disappear. As a gratitude, the patient brought his therapist two huge pikes. He did not accept this gift, but asked if he could go fishing with him to catch such specimens himself. They went, more than once.

Requirements for the profession of a physiotherapist

Prof. Zbigniew Śliwiński has published 470 articles and several dozen scripts and books. – Physiotherapy is a discipline that forces you to constantly learn. There is no field of medicine that does not benefit from its achievements. Still, new methods and devices emerge. That’s why you have to learn all the time – he says. Almost every method used by physiotherapists, apart from their knowledge gained from studies and professional experience, requires additional courses, sometimes very laborious. The professor adds that the physiotherapist must also have the appropriate psychosocial predisposition to perform this profession, because at work he or she comes into contact with the problems and suffering of another human being. You need to be easy in making contact with the patient. People with disabilities need understanding and acceptance.

Limited access to rehabilitation

In 2003, prof. Śliwiński became a national consultant in the field of physiotherapy. He then introduced a two-shift system of work for physiotherapists. – I couldn’t bear it that a patient who needs immediate rehabilitation in the afternoon lies senselessly in the hospital. Lying on the bed does not improve his health, on the contrary – he explains. – Unfortunately, the funds allocated to rehabilitation in Poland are very small. Annually, 70 people suffer from a stroke. people and almost all of them need immediate rehabilitation. For if it is implemented too late, it will not bring any results. The NFZ regulations allow a maximum three-week waiting time. Meanwhile, patients wait several months or even years – the professor is indignant.

For independent rehabilitation exercises in various types of spinal defects, you can use the Dynapad sensorimotor pillow, available at a favorable price on the Medonet Market.

Scoliosis treatment method

Working on his method of treating scoliosis by prof. Santos Sastre Fernandez began in the 80s. on rabbits, in which he first induced scoliosis and then tried various ways to straighten their spines. After several years of research, he developed a system of exercises that, through proper body positioning and movement, allows you to eliminate changes in the spine. For the next several years, prof. Sastre conducted research on the effectiveness of the method, while improving it. The results of the work exceeded even his expectations. Until now, it was believed that certain changes could only be treated surgically. Meanwhile, the therapy of prof. Sastre allowed to stop the process of scoliosis progression in a large group of children, as well as straighten the spine without surgery in low-grade scoliosis.

Treatment of scoliosis by the FED method

Professor Sastre specially designed the “FED system” device. Initially, it was a frame with several booms. Then the operation of the device was controlled by a computer, adjusting it for each individual. The patient is attached to the extraction system. Then, with the help of stabilizers, it is properly positioned and stabilized. Then, pressure is applied to the appropriate places from a dozen to even 100 kg. The pressure lasts from several to several dozen seconds, followed by a period of relaxation. The patient stays in the device for about half an hour. – Such treatment, along with analytical kinesitherapy, electrostimulation and classes at the swimming pool, is carried out for 28 days – explains Prof. Śliwiński. Then there is a four-month break, during which the child wears the corset and follows the home exercise program with the parent. The best therapeutic effects are obtained in cases of early treatment, i.e. before the end of the ossification process in the body. Treatment is continued until this process is completed.

FED device

When thirteen-year-old Asia found her way to prof. Śliwiński, the angle of curvature of her spine was 34 degrees. She was already scheduled for surgery. Her mother, who is a nurse, was very concerned about the procedure. So she came to the professor for help. There was no FED device in Poland yet. – Unfortunately, after half a year of therapy, it got worse from 34 degrees to 46 degrees. Then we decided that Asia must go to Barcelona to prof. Sastre – says the physiotherapist. Thanks to treatment in Spain, the curvature was reduced to 23 degrees and the rotation angle was reduced from 23 degrees to 9. The costal hump has disappeared. – Today Asia is 16 years old and has a beautiful figure. Thanks to the FED method, she avoided surgery and is fully functional – says Prof. Śliwiński. He adds that Asia’s accident confirmed him in the belief that he must purchase the FED device.

Two FED devices in Zgorzelec

The FED device costs about 140. zloty. The first prof. Śliwiński bought thanks to the funds received as part of the implementation of one of the EU-funded programs. The second was also financed from EU funds as part of a program implemented jointly by the district hospital in Zgorzelec together with the Technical University in Dresden. As part of this program, screening of postural defects in Polish and German children is also carried out. From January 2011, prof. Śliwiński treats children using this method under the NHF contract. Today, many little patients manage to help without going abroad. The youngest ones treated in the center in Zgorzelec are 6 years old, the oldest 17 years old. In Poland, about 10 branches have purchased the FED device.

The effectiveness of treatment with the FED method

Previous research has shown that 30% of children with a spine curvature angle of ten degrees will continue to progress. In contrast, as much as 90% of small patients with a thirty degree curvature will have progression of the disease. – It results from the first analyzes of the results obtained in our Center, “destroyed” this coefficient, because in 70% of children with a curvature of 30 degrees and more, we stopped the progression of curvature of the spine. And in many of them the angle of curvature decreased significantly – says Prof. Śliwiński. Over 240 children are waiting for FED treatment. There are only 20 places in the center, and the therapy lasts for several months. The parent must stay with the child in the ward, because he must learn the entire therapy program – exercises individually selected for each child, electrostimulation that the little patient will perform after returning home. The NHF pays for the child’s treatment, but the parent bears the costs of accommodation, meals and training.

Screening for posture defects

Prof. Śliwiński would like to buy a third device in order to be able to treat more children. The two owned by the facility work all day long. – Little patients from Zgorzelec have no chance for treatment at all, because there are children from all over Poland in the center. The third machine would also allow for outpatient treatment of the inhabitants of Zgorzelec, who would return home after the procedures. In the immediate plans of prof. Śliwiński, in cooperation with scientists from the Technical University of Dresden, is to construct a device for examining children without undressing. Posture screening could be done faster and therefore more children could be tested. It must be remembered that scoliosis can be cured in many cases only until the child’s ossification is completed. Therefore, the sooner the disease is detected, the greater the chance of therapeutic success.