Living with Scoliosis - Testimonials

In my late thirties, it had progressed from 27 to 37 degrees in just two years - and the back pain was almost unbearable without daily medication. 

By the time I turned 39 years old, I knew I had to take action. I spent weeks researching available options, and that's when I found Malcolm and the Scoliosis Therapy Centre. Completing the 6-day Schroth treatment with Malcolm has been nothing short of life-changing. It’s been three months since I finished the program, and I feel like a completely different person - physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Before meeting Malcolm, I carried a heavy sense of hopelessness and self-pity about my scoliosis. But through his guidance, I’ve gained something I never had before: hope. For the first time, someone took the time to explain what was happening in my body. No doctor, physiotherapist, or chiropractor had ever done that. Malcolm educated me about my specific type of scoliosis and gave me practical, empowering tools to manage it and reduce my pain.

The treatment has dramatically improved my quality of life. I now understand my body, I feel stronger, and I no longer live in fear of my condition. I highly recommend anyone with scoliosis to invest in learning about their spine and take control of their journey.

There is so much you can do to avoid surgery and live a better, more informed life - and in my opinion, this Scoliosis Therapy Center is a fantastic place to start.

Delving deep into yoga, meditation and touching upon reiki, acupuncture, mind training, craniosacral therapy, breath work, spiritual healing and more. Turning to God and becoming Catholic has been the greatest motivation in aligning my spine and feeling my body.

Wanting to become a healthy mother helped me find Malcolm’s retreat - the most specific and intensive scoliosis program I have found, targeting and tailored to my spine.

It is a big expense for me but worth it as he has provided me with lifelong training on how to stand, sit, walk, sleep, move and breath to best de-rotate my body. The manual of exercises are much easier to do at home and whilst travelling than expected, even with the exercise aids I have to carry with me. And, the detailed information provided helps to easily refresh and come back to the exercises, even when life gets in the way of the 4 x a week regimen.

I know it will be a lifelong journey to maintain focus, strength and commitment to improve my condition. But with Malcolm's instruction and program, I feel I have done all I can to give myself and those I love the best chance that I can have a healthy life and pregnancy in future.

I wore a brace every day until I stopped growing. Physically and emotionally this was extremely challenging, especially so since it did not improve my scoliosis.

Over the years I have had numerous appointments with various health practitioners none of whom have been able to help me improve my condition.

Worried my scoliosis would continue to progress with age, last year I saw an Orthopaedic Specialist. However, this only served to increase my level of anxiety as I was informed my scoliosis was severe and I required surgery. Financially and emotionally this was not a viable option for me.

So, I continued to research via the internet for alternative treatment options and found the Scoliosis Therapy Centre. I spoke to Malcolm who explained how Schroth scoliosis exercise therapy could help improve my quality of life. Then, after speaking with one his patients I registered for a 6 Day Schroth Program.

As I’m not the most co-ordinated person, I found the first day’s sessions daunting and wondered if I could cope. However, Malcolm quickly allayed my concerns through his patience and total focus on helping me with a Schroth Program of scoliosis exercise therapy, customized to my needs.

I can confidently say that my Schroth Program experience has been a life-changer for me. My entire thinking has shifted. I now see my scoliosis in a more positive light, rather than a negative one, driven by anxiety that surgery was my only treatment option.

With the knowledge I have gained together with a Schroth home exercise program - specific to my needs - I have taken back control of my own wellbeing, something I have wanted to do for the past 30 years.

Without hesitation, I can highly recommend Malcolm and the 6 day Schroth Program.

Spending six immersive days with one on one tutoring from Malcolm was life changing. He reviewed all my scans and developed a bespoke program for me to follow from home.

I was convinced that surgery was the only option for me and that without it I would live with pain, curvature progression and mobility issues. However Malcolm coached me in techniques to help me move through each day’s activities without severe pain and restricted movement. I was reassured, and for the first time was able to understand what is going on inside my body - due to my scoliosis. I came away with the knowledge and skills to take back control over my scoliosis. I now feel empowered.

The Schroth 3D (ISST) Method requires discipline and lifelong commitment, but I am confident that it will stop further deterioration of my condition and therefore the need for spinal fusion surgery.

Malcolm truly cares and is an expert practitioner with a gift for teaching. He goes above and beyond to ensure you are equipped with the knowledge and tools to live a better life and put a stop to the constant expensive cycle of medical appointments and treatments that in my case have not helped.

My program is the first time I have received a true education and a new awareness of how my habitual posture was contributing to my pain and probable curvature progression.  After completing the program I am able to walk, sit, stand and sleep so much more comfortably.

I only discovered my scoliosis a few years ago. In my adult years, both curves continued to progress to the level they are today. My scoliosis had never really troubled me majorly, so I did nothing about it, though that was until recently. In the past year, my lower back pain has been excruciating to an almost unmanageable degree, where at times, I could not even walk or sit.

For me, random physiotherapy sessions and popping painkillers had become the norm. My pain became chronic and debilitating and my quality of life poor. I realized I needed to change the situation, so I signed up on all the available scoliosis user group pages I could find and tried to gather as much information as possible. I came across a post by Robin Chee regarding a Certified ISST Schroth Therapist in Australia, Malcolm Boulter who trained at the Asklepios-Katharina Schroth Klinik in Bad Sobernheim, Germany. He has been practicing in the Schroth Method of 3D exercise therapy since 2008.

I quickly did some reference calls to scoliosis patients here in Singapore whom he had treated. They all had only positive things to say about their treatment. In a brief zoom with me and husband, Malcolm helped us understand, in depth, what was going on with my spine and how an intensive Schroth 3D exercise therapy program could help me change my posture for the better.

What impressed me most about my Schroth 3D exercise therapy program was Malcolm was always patient, empathetic and encouraging in teaching me. My program was conducted one on one and customized to my pattern of idiopathic scoliosis - I had his undivided attention. In every therapy exercise he monitored my corrective breathing and my postural correction.

I also felt empowered being able to compile my own Home Exercise Program manual with helpful information about Schroth 3D exercise therapy, my pattern of idiopathic scoliosis, and a comprehensive set of exercise notes and photos. Family involvement was encouraged and my daughter, who attended with me for her hyper-kyphosis, took videos and photos of me performing my prescribed exercises.

By the end of my program, I felt physically and mentally great - I was pain free, and I still am. My experience at the Scoliosis Therapy Centre was a very positive one, the complete opposite to stop start, one off weekly or monthly treatment offered in Singapore, where you often forget what you have learned the previous week or month.

I personally feel, anything and everything to do with the treatment of idiopathic scoliosis in Singapore is biased towards spinal fusion surgery. I continue to ask myself why? I have come to the conclusion that what is completely missing is Education! Education for appropriate and corrective 3D bracing and Schroth 3D exercise therapy programs, like the one I recently attended.

So, in case you are looking for a solution out of this madness, and you can afford an airfare to Australia and a stay on the Gold Coast, I would highly recommend Malcolm’s Scoliosis Therapy Centre.

Over decades I have tried various things to improve my scoliosis and ease the pain. Initially, I saw several practitioners who were not able to help. Back then, I was in chronic pain taking pain killers to enable me to get through each day. Not happy with my doctor’s conclusion that I would have to live with chronic pain, I embarked on my own self-help journey.

I started seeing a chiropractor, took up swim lessons, had the occasional massage and started wearing orthotics. Although, I still had pain and stiffness in my back, I believed that there was nothing more I could do for my back, till………

Last year I accidentally came across mention of the Schroth method in a book I was reading about breathing. Not really knowing what to expect I booked into the 6 day Schroth Scoliosis Rehabilitation Program at the Scoliosis Therapy Centre,Sanctuary Cove, QLD. I have not looked back since then! At the end of the program I had a detailed understanding of the nature of my scoliosis and returned home with a customized exercise program.

It is now 4 months since I attended the Scoliosis Therapy Centre and I continue to feel really good! I no longer need to see a chiropractor nor wear orthotics. I cannot get over the fact that I can now wear strappy sandals instead of bulky shoes required to fit orthotics.

I can’t remember the last time I have had to take a tablet for scoliosis pain relief; I no longer wake up with lower back pain and stiffness! I still have massages, swim and regularly walk - increased distances now - without pain. Friends have commented on how my upright posture has improved and I’m sure I’ve regained a few centimetres of my height. I didn’t realize how much I slouched.

I don't miss a day of my Schroth Home Exercise Program. It has improved my quality of life and continues to motivate me. The Schroth method has empowered me….my scoliosis is no longer a negative and painful daily life experience.

While we had been aware a few years earlier that he did have a mild scoliosis (like his dad), we had been reassured his scoliosis was not an issue since he was asymptomatic.

Andrew has grown tall and strong, and is active as a percussionist and lacrosse player. So, when I saw how curved his back was, I was shocked. Andrew's scoliosis had progressed into a double major. Cobb Angle measurements taken from his x-rays showed both his thoracic and lumbar curvatures were approximately 55°.

We were referred to an Orthopaedic Surgeon who informed us that our only option was spinal fusion surgery. Without surgery, we were told, Andrew’s scoliosis would continue to progress at the rate of 0.5 to 1° per month.

I was not prepared to accept that fusing Andrew’s spine was the only option (and if it was the only option then we did not have enough information to understand how it would impact his life). I started researching both spinal fusion surgery and other possible treatments online.  The more I read about how limited Andrew’s movement could be after surgery, and the likelihood that he would no longer be able to participate in the activities (or try new activities) which he enjoyed, the more focused I became on finding an alternative.    

I found a reference to the Schroth Method in a journal article regarding the treatment of  idiopathic scoliosis.  This led me to the Scolisis Therapy Centre's website. Soon after, Andrew and I attended a two week intensive Schroth Method Therapy Program in January 2020. It was such a relief to have Andrew's scoliosis thoroughly explained. 

Prior to attending the Scoliosis Therapy Centre there had been no information given to us regarding the 'mechanics' of flexion and rotation of Andrew's spine. Once I had a clear explanation of his scoliosis, I felt confident that a treatment based on physical therapy and exercises to counter the flexion and rotation would be effective.

Since we returned from the intensive program 4 months ago, Andrew has been following a Schroth Method home exercise program prescribed and customized specifically for his pattern of scoliosis. We both feel that the Schroth Method is helping him to better manage his scoliosis. He remains pain free and continues to participate in the physical activities and sports he enjoys.