“Judo is his life. Even during the lockdown due to the pandemic, Giulia never stopped training. You don’t surprise me because generally all the kids who play sports at a competitive level have a particular attitude towards difficulties, and I was able to see this with Giulia. Sport has always helped her, even in dealing with corset therapy to correct her scoliosis. On the other hand, sport teaches you how to fall and get up again”.
Talking is Martina PoggioIsico physiotherapist, whom he has been following for three years Julia Bonzano, three times champion at the Italian Judo Championships. Giulia suffers from idiopathic scoliosis. At her first visit the curve of her spine exceeded 17°, the orthopedic doctor decides to start with exercises and physiotherapy sessions, but the curve gets worse and the only way forward is brace therapy, eighteen hours a day.
“With Giulia we started therapy to correct the scoliosis by assigning her exercises, but then it was necessary to prescribe her a brace because the scoliosis had worsened with growth – explains Martina Poggio -. A passage certainly not easy from a psychological point of view. However, not has had to abandon her sport: the only hours of freedom from the corset have become those dedicated to her workouts. It is in fact important that a patient can continue to do sports because it contributes to the success of the therapy, if only due to the fact that sport has a positive response both on a physical and on a psychological level”.
Giulia: no corset, only on the tatami
Looking at her, Giulia is a shy, almost reserved girl, just as one would expect a girl of just fourteen to be. But it’s on her tatami, and in everyday life, that Giulia stands out for a determination that has led her not only to win the Italian Championships for three consecutive years, but also to undergo brace therapy to cure a idiopathic scoliosis.
When did you start practicing judo?
When I was in my last year of kindergarten ten years ago. I trained three times a week. Then over the years the trainings have increased and today I train from Monday to Friday, in addition to the races on the weekend.
How did you find out you had idiopathic scoliosis?
During the sports medical examination, the doctor realized that something was wrong. After a series of visits, I started therapy with Isico; I was initially only prescribed exercises for my back, but then it started to get worse and we switched to a corset.
What was your reaction when you were prescribed the brace?
There was a bit of a crisis because I had my habits, training and school. It only took 20 minutes to complete the exercises, but I had to wear the corset eighteen hours a day. Over time I managed to fit everything well and then I got used to it.
Were you afraid of not being able to play sports anymore?
No, because I had six hours of freedom. I was more worried about wearing the corset correctly or worried about the time I might not be able to spend at the beach.
How did you manage to train for the Italian Championships?
Luckily I was able to manage everything. I trained, and still train, in the six free hours. I also have three coaches, two in Genoa and one in Milan who have supported me a lot over the years.
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Does practicing a sport like judo help you face therapy better?
Between training, competitions and results to be achieved, the corset has almost faded into the background. The problem could have been that of not being able to do certain things while wearing it, but I have always managed to train in the six hours of freedom. Then the fact of having won the Italian Championships was an extra stimulus and in the end the problem was more than anything else fitting school and judo training and understanding during visits to the orthopedist if I had gotten worse or not: sometimes, in fact, the appearance of the back is almost perfect, but the radiographs indicate a deterioration.
What values has judo passed on to you?
In addition to respecting your opponent and collaborating with your team mates, judo has taught me that you have to work hard to achieve your goals and you always have to do your best to win competitions. With the same mentality, I face scoliosis. The aim is to do the exercises regularly and wear the brace at the established times, in order to obtain more hours of freedom at the next visit. Judo is all of this: constancy and concentration.
You are 14 years old, in your opinion how important is practicing a sport during adolescence?
You go to school, when you get home you have to study and then there’s training. So every day. In my opinion playing sports is an extra stimulus to better organize yourself and be able to do everything. And then with training I manage to isolate myself from everything, I find my own space where I can dedicate myself to what I like best.
For a person with a more or less serious disability, playing sports allows you to fit into a social context. What do you think?
On the tatami we are all the same. We all wear white judogi, we are almost indistinguishable. The difference is the will and everything you do to achieve your goals. And as happens in judo, also in other sports, people express themselves on the same level, and the differences are reduced.
How did you feel about winning the Italian Championships?
A lot of satisfaction because this year’s final race was very long and tiring. And then when you find yourself in a building like the one in Ostia, where the most important competitions are held, you really understand that you have done something important. You have achieved a goal and can start thinking about what comes next. In addition to my parents, I have to thank my coaches because in these ten years they have followed me a lot and the results achieved are those of teamwork.
“Giulia is never alone, not even on the tatami”
“Sport is essential for us. Giulia started practicing judo from an early age and thanks to this sport she learned to manage emotions – says Paola, the mother -. Judo is an individual sport, she is alone on her tatami, but she can always count on a group of people, us parents, her coaches and her teammates, all ready to support her.
When Giulia started wearing the corset, the first people she told were her teammates. And I think it was possible because on the tatami these guys are all the same. Giulia herself tells me that when he does judo he feels like the others.
“Giving your best in moments of maximum stress is one of the greatest gifts that sport can give.”
Wearing a corset can be a limitation in everyday life and can create some inequality, especially during adolescence, when girls are all very standardized, starting with the way they dress. In short, for her, no short shirts or tight-fitting dresses, otherwise you can see the corset… Giulia, however, has a strength inside her that makes her special, thanks also to the world of sport that makes it equal to the othersor better if you look at the results obtained so far.
In the gym they train in pairs. In turn, one partner sacrifices himself for the other to help him prepare for the next race. And if one of them wins, it’s partly due to whoever helped him. From the point of view of life values in judo you learn to walk together and rejoice for your teammate. It’s a very rare thing these days, far from obvious and she’s learning it from judo.”
