A GRANDMOTHER from Poole with scoliosis has avoided a 12-hour operation to fuse her spine with an exercise routine, which has changed her life.

Mable Thompson, 71, who was struggling to carry her youngest grandchildren, is now planning to open a tea shop with her daughter.

“Being told that I had scoliosis was traumatic enough but being told that I needed to have major spinal fusion surgery was terrifying,” she said.

“I love being a grandma and have so much left to give, I just hated the idea of being stuck in the house and having to rely on my family to look after me.”

She had been suffering serious back pain and doing yoga and Pilates in a bid to keep it at bay.

Devastated by the scoliosis diagnosis, she faced having a major operation which involved metal rods being inserted either side of the spine, before it was fused solid.

The condition, which causes the spine to curve sideways, affects more than four per cent of the population and if left untreated can lead to fatal heart and lung problems.

Seeking an alternative, she discovered Scoliosis SOS, a London clinic founded and run by Erika Maude, who has scoliosis and has helped hundreds of sufferers over the past eight years.

It is the only clinic in the world to offer treatment following the ScolioGold method, a combination of internationally renowned non-surgical treatments.

Mable booked a four-week course of treatment and found it gave her almost instant relief from the aching around her hip joints and shoulder blades.

Her breathing capacity improved and she had a more symmetrical appearance.

“Finding the SOS clinic was the best thing that has ever happened to me,” she said.

“It has given me my life back. I am so relieved to be pain free.”

She added: “I can run around with my grandchildren again and I am so excited about the tea shop. It will be such an amazing achievement when we get it open.”