Students under the weight of a crippling work load

Carrying a bag full of heavy books and sitting hunched over a computer for hours is the life of a college student. "Most days I have at least three books in my backpack at once, not to mention my laptop and other things in my bag," said history major Charles Egan from St. Norbert college. "Add in my back injuries from high school football, and most days my back is sore when I get home," he said. After a long day of carrying books, sitting in desks for hours and finishing homework late at night at a computer desk, most students can relate to back aches. These activities are necessary to succeed, but they can have serious health risks if people aren't careful. One health risk is the back disease scoliosis. According to mayoclicnic.com, scoliosis is an abnormal curve of the spine. Scoliosis is normally seen in children during adolescence, but can develop later in a person's life, according to Dr. Brian Dovorany of Posture and Spine Care Center, located on 2031 S. Webster Ave. in Green Bay. "Prolong sitting at computers is a major issue as far as spinal health is concerned," Dovorany said. "For people and college students, backpacks can obviously put a strain on posture, and the back as well. Contact sports and other sports like long distance running can also impact someone in a college environment with spinal problems." The cause of scoliosis is unknown, but doctors have noticed in some cases that it's hereditary. There are certain risk factors that can make a scoliosis curve worse, according to mayoclinic.com. Risks include a person's sex; female's curves are more likely to worsen compared to male's curves. Also, the younger a person is when scoliosis appears, the better chance the curve will worsen. The bigger the curve, the more likely it will worsen. Curves located in the upper part of the spine are worse than curves located at the lower part of the spine. Also, children born with spinal problems are more likely to have increased problems with age. For years, the only option for people to fix severe scoliosis was painful and expensive surgeries and braces, but a new treatment was developed by doctors at The Clear Institute in Minnesota. The Clear Institute has changed the way some doctors treat patients with severe scoliosis. The institute is a non-profit organization formed with one purpose: To develop protocols that effectively correct scoliosis without the use of bracing or surgery. At Clear facilities, spinal correction is achieved through a unique chiropractic system designed especially for the scoliotic spine, according to its pamphlet. Dovorany is the only medical professional in Wisconsin certified by The Clear Institute to provide intensive care treatment, according to an article in the Green Bay Press-Gazzette. There are three steps to Dovorany's scoliosis treatment. The first step is the mix. According to Clear, the scoliotic spine has tight muscles, ligaments and tendons that have evolved over time with the scoliosis. The mix helps to loosen these muscles and allow more flexibility for the spine, which is one of the key factors in scoliosis reduction. The next step is the fix. Once the muscles around the spinal area are loose and relaxed, the doctor can then proceed to properly aligning the spine through safe and effective adjustments. The final step is the set. The set helps to re-educate the body's supporting muscles in order to hold and maintain its newly corrected positions. This is done using a precise spinal weighting and exercise system that features specific isometric spinal exercises, and head, shoulder and hip weights designed expressly for the patient, according to Clear. Even though this procedure can put people on the right path to spinal health recovery, Dovorany said people have to be willing to do the work and exercise at home if they want to keep their spine healthy. Dovorany said his procedure is cheaper than a surgery or a brace and is virtually painless, except for some mild soreness that could occur in the beginning of treatment. "I am not a big fan of evasive procedures that are going to create some negative effects on the long - term end," Dovorany said. "In some instances, there is no way to avoid it, but if it's preventable, then we need to come up with solutions that prevent surgery." Dovorany said he has a 100 percent success rate with his patients so far; meaning none of them will need surgery to fix their spinal problems.