Why Splitting Spines?

Splitting Spines is a fairly random name for a blog. Allow me to take you on a story of where it came from. . .

I was thirteen the day I headed downstairs to inform my mother that I thought my left hip seemed flatter than the right. It was annoying me and I'd noticed it getting worse and worse the past few months. A typical teenage girl, my primary concern was about how I looked. I was gawky, too tall following my most recent growth spurt and I really didn't want to add 'wonky' to the mix.

I knew, though. I just didn't want to tell her my worries. By that point, I'd be going to sleep with a rolled-up towel pressed beneath my left ribcage for weeks. I thought, if I could just give it a little nudge, everything would be fine and I wouldn't have to grow up experiencing the same pains and difficulties my mother did. 

She didn’t want that for me, either.

She frowned as she called me over but, not ten minutes later, we were sure. She made an appointment with a doctor shortly after.

Scoliosis is, by definition, the abnormal twisting and curvature of the spine. First noticed by small symptoms in appearance, the condition can continue to worsen if left unchecked and go on to cause life-altering problems.

In the most extreme cases, the ribcage may shift and can push against internal organs like the lungs and heart, increasing the risk of pneumonia and heart disease. My mother, herself, experiences great difficulty with mobility and pain that not even her medication helps.

In my case, I'm grateful to say my condition is far less severe than my mother's, and because we caught it early enough, I've managed to maintain it. Most people will probably never notice it. Plus, I wear a lift in all my left shoes to help with the wonkiness. 

Unfortunately, there's not a lot that can actually be done to help. 

The advice in my case is simple: keep active. Don’t gain weight that’ll put pressure on your spine, try to sleep in certain positions and do some yoga—spine-lengthening yoga, to be specific. Don’t carry too much weight in general. If you must carry anything at all, do so in a backpack. Get a massage. (That last one was the only one I didn't mind the sound of, though I did ensure to ask the doctor whether there was financial aid for this—there is not.) 

Regardless, the point remains that despite being lucky, scoliosis of the spine still affects my daily life and will continue to do so. There is no direct ‘cure,’ per se, just maintenance with the general understanding symptoms can and likely will worsen with age.

I suppose, when I wrote my first blog post (years ago, now) about creasing books and breaking their spines, I thought the entire thing ironic. Of course I would be a serial offender for splitting the spines of books. I tried to change the name a few years back but couldn't bring myself to do so. As I do with most things, I became attached. 

Plus, I found great humour in the concept of splitting hairs over writing books (a topic this blog aims to aid). So, that's how Splitting Spines became the name of a blog belonging to an editor, writer and all-round book lover with scoliosis. 

I hope you will follow along for writing tips, tricks and other musings.

Happy writing!