[MERGED] Scoliosis

[imogen]

i think im a factory defect! ano ba yan! anyway i hav scoliosis... (idiopathic daw! di alam kung saan galing) so ayun. di ko alam how many degrees na siya... last time nagpacheck up ako... less than 10 degrees ata. how many degress bago mag back brace? (ayoko maging kamukha ni lisa kudrow sa romy and michele!) and if ever, how much siya?? should i stay away from certain activities? anong exercise maganda? HELP! thanks!

[Ira]

Idiopathic scoliosis just means it's not because of posture, congenital problems, bone problems, metabolic problems, tumors, or muscular problems/diseases. It's a familial tendency, particularly in females.

Curves that measure 10 degrees or less are considered "normal" and do not interfere with strength, joint mobility, endurance, or any other body function. They are not true scoliosis, almost never progress, and do not increase the likelihood of developing back pain, arthritis, disc herniation, or any other musculoskeletal problem. Treatment of scoliotic curves of 10 degrees or less is therefore unnecessary; semiannual to yearly follow-ups is probably the only management needed. For angles starting from 10-20 degrees, close observation is done, because these may progress during growth. You may need to start wearing a Milwaukee brace or a thoracolumbosacral orthosis once the angle of curvature is greater than 20 (or for some orthopedic surgeons, 30 degrees) and progressing. For curves over 40 degrees with progression, surgery is already indicated, because by this degree braces are ineffective.

The only activity you should be careful of, as with people with normal spine curvature, is lifting heavy objects without bending your knees. Unfortunately, exercise will not stop the scoliosis that is already present, but back muscle exercises may improve the pattern and keep the back muscles strong enough to prevent other orthopedic problems.

[imogen]

thanks a lot!!!! super thanks!

[clone]

Imogen:

This is just a little suggestion. Have someone measure the length of your legs to see if they are even. Your doctor can tell you the most accurate way to measure them.

If you're wondering what the heck does this have to do with scoliosis, let me tell you. The teenage daughter of our employee was told that she had scoliosis but it was the "compensating" type. Her lower spine tilted toward the side with the shorter leg and the upper part compensated by curving in the opposite direction. She corrected it by using a shoe lift on the short side.

Doc, have you seen this type in your patients?

[Ira]

Yes, I have. I'm sure all doctors in this forum have seen it, too. It's pretty common.

[moody_meeh]

I have scoliosis, though I don't know what degree. It really bothers me a lot, especially when I slouch.

I have tried sleeping on the floor (though I use bed sheets only, para di naman sobrang tigas!). When I wake up, I feel better, and for the rest of the day, most of the time, my scoliosis wouldnt hurt anymore. Doc Ira, is this ok? is this normal?

I have heard that scoliosis would eventually lead to slip disc, where your spine would "break" (according to my friend)...

Isa pang kulang sa mga scoliotic -- exercise ng spine.

[Ira]

First off, scoliosis does not lead to slipped discs at all. Scoliosis involves an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine; slipped discs are conditions wherein your nucleus pulposus (in between your vertebra) slides posteriorly. Slipped discs are totally different to a breakage of the spine. They are for the most part treated non-surgically with muscle relaxants, analgesics, and exercises. Only in cases where there are neurologic signs and symptoms and spinal cord compression is slipped disc operated on.

Now we cleared that up, I'd suggest that you go to your orthopedic surgeon on a regular basis to have your scoliosis checked. Your treatment would have to depend on the degree of scoliosis measured. You will have to get x-rays, depending on when your last x-rays were done. It's perfectly fine to lie on a hard floor or wooden board if it makes you feel more comfortable, because firm beds make your spine conform into a more physiologically ideal position, compared to fluffy beds. We usually prescribe doing that to back pain patients, actually.

[moody_meeh]

Thanks Doc Ira for the info

[PiNkAnGeL]

my case is pretty serious... about 5 years ago, i first found out about my scoliosis, 42 degrees na daw and I need an operation asap... so my parents decided to get a 2nd opinion, ganon din, kaso i refused coz hs palang ako non, sabi after i graduate hs nlang. 6months to recover daw and sobrang bloody... then just last october,(I was 17), i went to a chiropractor, then sabi nya 37 degrees lang yung scolio ko and d daw muna ako operahan... therapy lang yung kelangan so i did, twice a week, i go to his clinic tapos my therapy mga 15 mins. max lang P1000 per therapy, he also told me to wear braces... dapat talaga 23 hrs a day pero pumayag sha na everytime I'm at home lang kasi college ako... the thing is... i never really felt any pain... and hindi rin obvious yung scolio ko unless tingnan mo talaga yung back ko w/o any clothes... i stopped na the therapy, hindi naman intentional, nagkataon lang coz i have a lot of things to do, pero i still wear the braces... tapos ngayon naman, ngtetennis ako...i'm not experiencing any back pains naman... maaffect kaya scolio ko? or is it possible na because ok naman posture ko and i haven't experienced any pain eh hindi na sha lumala?

[seventeen]

imogen... =) nandito pala ikaw


hmm... me too! i have scolio, ngayon im 15yrs old, nalaman ko nung 13yrs old ako, nagpacheck ako, 12degrees daw.. so.. di pa gaano grabe, tapos nung 6 months later nagpacheck ulit ako, 16 degrees na, sabi nung doctor ko, lagyan na lang daw ng back brace para maagapan, i had no choice but to wear it, yes its true kelangan nga talaga at least 22-23 hours a day, i tried once pumasok ako suot ko yung brace ko, grabe mahirap gumalaw kasi feel mo parati may nakayakap ng mahigpit sayo, then ayun, pumayag na lang din mom ko na sa bahay na *** isuot, so.. ngayon 2 years na akong nagsusuot nung brace, believe it or not di na ako makatulog pag di ko suot brace ko, kasi nasanay na eh! hehehe
tungkol naman sa pag suot ng brace and magpaopera, sabi ng doctor ko talagang as much as possible wag magpa-opera, super delikado daw talaga, kaya kung pwede brace na ***,
purpose ng brace is to prevent, pero di na kaya ituwid.. prevent ***.. para di na lumala

[sampaguita]

is it ever too late to start wearing back braces? or too late to have anything ease the pain?

[Ira]

PiNkAnGeL: I really wouldn't leave my condition solely in the hands of chiropractors if I were you. They are not adequately trained to treat problems like these, inspite of their insistence that they are. Go back and have a checkup with your orthopedic surgeon. He will probably ask you to undergo another xray and compare it with your previous plates. If your scoliosis is worsening, you really may have to undergo a corrective procedure to stop complications from happening. Lack of pain at this point in time does not have anything to do with whether or not you won't have pains or complications in the near future, or that your degree of scoliosis will not get worse. Curves over 40 degrees pose an increased risk of back pain in adulthood, and when it worsens to around 70 degrees, lung problems will start happening. While surgery to correct scoliosis is a major, complicated procedure, you most probably will not experience any post-op problems if it's done by a competent orthopedic surgeon.

sampaguita: It's never too late to wear back braces no matter how old you are, because braces prevent (not improve) any posture defect that will aggravate the situation. It's never too late either to seek treatment for the pain.

[PiNkAnGeL]

Yikes scary naman!! geez, just when i thought that im perfectly fine .... its hard to consider surgery coz my former surgeon told me that its really bloody, 6 donors needed and that i have to wear braces for 6 whole months... that's a lot of torture when you have a lot of plans ahead of you....

neways, tnx doc ira!

[Ira]

You're welcome. Although if your orthopedic surgeon is like most surgeons, the 6 units of blood he's asking you to prepare is an overestimation. It's better to have extra bags available than to find blood unavailable in the middle of the procedure--chances are, your surgeon won't use all the 6 units. As a personal experience, we ask our pre-op patients to prepare at least 2 units of blood, but we hardly even use them. The surgery is a bloody procedure because bones tend to bleed strongly when you start chipping them. But as I've said, if your surgeon and your anesthesiologist are competent, you probably won't be experiencing any major complications post-operatively.

[PiNkAnGeL]

last question.. possible pa na dna mgcontinue yung pgbend ng backbone ko forever? and is it possible also na from 42 degrees e 37 degrees nlang sha ngayon? tnx!

[Ira]

It's possible that your scoliosis will not worsen in anymore, but it may be a little too farfetched to expect it to improve without treatment.

[PiNkAnGeL]

oh i see... so for now i'll just continue wearing my braces. thanks doc ira!!!

[sampaguita]

i was wondering because someone very close to me was diagnosed with this disease about 4 years ago, she was 22 then. and the doctors who saw her were pretty much saying, "there's nothing we can do now", because of her older age. they even said that surgery would cost a lot, and be so painful, but it won't help much. so a brack brace now at her age (26) be helpful? are there other ways to help her?

[Ira]

As I've mentioned, the purpose of the brace is to prevent the scoliosis from getting worse (i.e., reaching 40 degrees up). So even if she's in her 40s, a back brace would help stop the natural progression of the disease. If all else fails, surgery would be the an option.

[spamkin101]

i have scoliosis too...the last time i got it checkd it was 15 degrees i think. my back never hurt..until now. can u suggest any good orthopedic surgeon i can consult to? (preferably in makati pls.)

i dont go to theraphy or do any excercise for my back...all i do that i THINK helps my back is...when i sleep, i dont put a pillow under my head. actually i prefer this way of sleeping...ive been sleeping this way before pa...even before i found out i had scolio..but does this actually help?