About this documentary
A teenaged girl says: “the top is 45 – the bottom is 50.”
Chances are – she’s talking about severe curves in her spine from scoliosis.
It’s a medical condition that strikes almost two million children in the U-S and millions more around the world.
Yet most people know little – if anything - about it.
Girls are eight times more likely to need medical treatment for it – then boys are.
It can impact lungs and the heart.
How do you get doctors and parents - and even school nurses – to LOOK for signs of this sometimes-crippling disorder? In this film, you’ll hear about a push in this country to do that very thing.
You will meet 13-year old Ciara whose back curve is dangerously large and went un- noticed for many years. Her curve is now SO severe - doctors are talking about back surgery as a likely part of her future.
But she and her mom are desperately searching for other solutions.
Follow their journey to learn about treatments in that have been popular in Europe for decades but are just recently making their way to the U-S.
Find out what you can do to make a difference for children in the future.
Maybe when more people understand scoliosis - decision makers will be forced to change the way we detect it and how kids are treated for it. Detecting it early - can change the course of a child's life.
You will meet two women who were diagnosed with scoliosis when they were young. Their stories took very different paths. But their stories could help today's young girls and boys - who will face this challenge.
There are treatments children in Europe get that are little known in the U-S. This film could increase awareness and change the future for tens of thousands of children.
We call our film – “The Back Story” – Changing the lives of kids with scoliosis.
