As the Twig Is Bent

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Jennifer and Melisa are happy teenagers who are able to swim and to participate in sports because their scoliosis has been brought into the electronic age.

The muscles in the small side of their curved spines are being shocked with tiny impulses while they sleep, so that the muscles will grow faster and stronger to balance off the muscles on the ohter side, arresting the curvature. If not stopped, the curvature would have left them with crooked spines.

Until a few years ago, youngsters who developed scoliosis necessitating treatment were obliged to wear braces. This precluded sports for several years during their teens, until their bones stopped growing or until their spines were sufficiently corrected. The braces, worn in the daytime, …