www.harrowobserer.co.uk                                         Thursday, February 18, 2010

Spinal treatment gives Brown his dream back
Harrow: 20-year-old’s scoliosis threatened to end career

By Ben Baker
FOR many children, playing professional football is their dream.
Just as it looked like becoming reality for 20-year-old Akil Brown from Harrow, his dream was crushed when he discovered that he suffered from the dangerous spinal condition, scoliosis.
But thanks to an alternative treatment to major surgery, Brown’s hopes of playing professional football again have been reignited.
Brown was an active sportsman when he discovered his condition, and was on the books at Watford’s centre of excellence, playing as a right-back.
Brown said: “It was devastating when I had to stop playing and I thought that was it.
“Because of the pain and it affecting my breathing I couldn’t last the 90 minutes and it was horrible being taken off at half-time and upsetting for me and my mum.”
Faced with dangerous surgery, which would have involved inserting metal rods into either side of his spine, Brown opted for the non-surgical treatment provided at Scoliosis SOS.
Scoliosis SOS, run by Erika Maude, who suffers from the condition herself, is the only clinic in the world to provide such an alternative solution.
Brown said: “I chose SOS over surgery because if I had the surgery my mobility would have been reduced and I would have had to take a year or two out of sports or even ended up in a wheelchair.
“And since I started the treatment, my muscles feel a lot looser and my breathing has improved and was better than before.
“I am virtually pain free now and the exercises they are making me do are making me feel a lot better and I have started taking part in football matches again.
“This is a massive achievement as far as I am concerned as I could barely run for 10 minutes before without being in agonising, constant pain and being totally out of breath.
“If I had had the operation, it would have prevented me from pursuing my dream, which is to continue playing football at a professional level.
“But now I hope to one day make it back to the academy at Watford, so I am eternally grateful to Scoliosis SOS”.
For more information about Scoliosis SOS, visit www.scoliosissos.com.