Highland Dancing star has 15 bolts and titanium rods fused to her spine due to Scheuermann’s disease

Isla Robertson, 15, was diagnosed with Scheuermann’s disease, which left her with a curve in her spine

A highland dancing starlet is back in her kilt just six months after a crippling spinal condition left her needing 15 metal bolts and two titanium rods in her back. 

Isla Robertson, 15, was left in agonising pain and bed-bound after developing a curve in her back caused by Scheuermann’s disease. 

The condition forced her to give up dancing – a passion she’d enjoyed since the age of six.

But she underwent a gruelling seven-hour corrective surgery to fix the curve in November. 

The schoolgirl, from Greenock, Inverclyde, said before spinal fusion surgery she struggled to go to school.  

She added: ‘It was so horrible, the pain was so bad you cannot imagine. Even when I was lying in bed I was in pain.   

‘I used to go to school one in every 10 days. [Before surgery] I was nervous but not as much as I should have been – I was more relieved that something was happening to lead to better things.

‘I didn’t want to be like that forever. My biggest fear was that I wouldn’t be able to dance again. I just want to compete again, even if I come last.’

Two years ago Isla started experiencing excruciating back pain which left her unable to sit up in bed.

She underwent a gruelling seven-hour corrective surgery in November to straighten the curve

She had two titanium rods fused to her spine and held in place by 15 metal bolts

She underwent a gruelling seven-hour corrective surgery in November to straighten the curve (shown left). She had two titanium rods fused to her spine and held in place by 15 metal bolts

Her mother Alison, 43, took the dancer back and forth to specialists at two different hospitals before she was diagnosed with Scheuermann’s disease last year.   

Her mother said: ‘It was devastating. She had to give up on everything she loved. We had to literally sit her up in bed in the morning until she had painkillers.’ 

The condition is believed to be caused by an abnormality in vertebral bone growth, potentially by an interruption of blood flow to the vertebrae during adolescence.

As a result of these vascular abnormalities, the front of the vertebrae grows faster than the back. 

The teen (pictured with one of her trophies) was in excruciating pain and rarely going to school due to the condition

The teen (pictured with one of her trophies) was in excruciating pain and rarely going to school due to the condition

This can cause the vertebral bodies to change from a healthy rectangular shape to triangular wedge shapes. 

SCHEUERMANN’S DISEASE EXPLAINED

Scheuermann’s disease is a spinal disease that typically presents itself in children during adolescence. 

It is often noted by an accentuated curvature, or ‘hunched back’ and if left untreated, may lead to significant health complications later in life.

The condition is believed to be caused by an abnormality in vertebral bone growth, potentially by an interruption of blood flow to the vertebrae during adolescence.

As a result of these vascular abnormalities, the front of the vertebrae grows faster than the back. 

This can cause the vertebral bodies to change from a healthy rectangular shape to triangular wedge shapes. 

Young patients rarely require surgery to correct curvatures. However, older patients  who have their daily lives interrupted by pain and limited mobility may benefit.

It is estimated that between one to eight per cent of teenagers are affected on some scale. 

Source: The Scheuermann’s Disease Fund

It is estimated that between one to eight per cent of teenagers are affected on some scale. 

Isla had the operation at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, where surgeons inserted two titanium rods in her back, held in place by 15 bolts. 

Doctors warned the family there was no guarantee Isla would dance again, even if the operation was successful. 

Her mother added: ‘Isla is so determined, her focus is to get back to dancing and she has been working towards that.

‘She has big plans and is back at her tap class, she is not dancing at Highland yet but she is determined she will dance again. We are very proud of what she’s achieved.’

The life-changing treatment means her back is rigid and cannot bend at all. 

But Isla remains hopeful as most Highland Dancing moves are performed with a straight back and square shoulders.

May Hughes, who runs the May Hughes School of Dance in Greenock, where Isla is a pupil, said she was full of admiration for the teen.  

She said: ‘She’s been a wee miracle. She was just at her prime when all this happened, winning trophies all over the place then she had to stop dancing altogether.

She was forced her to give up dancing - a passion she'd enjoyed since the age of six - due to the disease. But she's returned to practice just six months later

She was forced her to give up dancing – a passion she’d enjoyed since the age of six – due to the disease. But she’s returned to practice just six months later

‘She has been sitting waiting for the day when the doctors told her she could dance again.

‘Isla is back at the tap class but we have to wait a bit longer before she goes back to the Highland one, although she comes along and has walked through a reel and helps with the wee ones.’

‘Isla is a beautiful dancer and an absolute trouper, inspiration and a joy to have in the class.

‘Considering what she’s been through, she’s so positive and so upbeat about everything.’ 

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