Anyone have scoliosis?

[Jalapeñomel]

What is the treatment for it?

I am hoping this explains the back pain I've been suffering from for so long.

[rugbywife]

Yes, one large curvature in the mid to low back with another in the very low back. It was once referred to as 'big c with a small s'...but it's only moderate. Combined with my hypermobility it is a bitch. My back hurts essentially every day, in varying degrees. Today I moved tables at work, so I am at about a 5...discomfort but not pain.

[Marle]

I have tried different things but nothing sticks. Physical therapy, chiropractor. As long as you stop exercising and moving, the pain will come back.

[rugbywife]

I agree with Marle...

Apparently a lot of my back issues are intensified by my shitty shitty core muscles. I have lovely strong thighs and then shit for abs. So my physio always says I need to work on that. A lot of my pain involves my SI joint, my chiro has helped with that.

Exercising and staying strong helps A LOT but if I overdo it I feel it in my back. But in general the better shape I am in, the better my back feels. Which is why I am going to be effed right up after this baby gets done percolating...

[Jalapeñomel]

I didn't even know I had it until the docs were trying to get the epidural in. And once they said it, it totally clicked on why I've had this on going pain (I just thought it was a shitty mattress or crappy shoes).

[bania]

Yes I have a large "S" curve and it twists. The specialist told me the best thing i can do is keep excess weight off and exercise regularly with lots of back strengthening workouts. Oh and don't smoke. I don't know the correlation, I don't smoke so I didn't ask him to elaborate.

[Jalapeñomel]

Oct 30, 2013 19:47:27 GMT -5 Marle said:

I have tried different things but nothing sticks. Physical therapy, chiropractor. As long as you stop exercising and moving, the pain will come back.

So basically there isn't much I can do about it? What about wearing a daily brace?

[rugbywife]

Oct 30, 2013 19:50:47 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I didn't even know I had it until the docs were trying to get the epidural in. And once they said it, it totally clicked on why I've had this on going pain (I just thought it was a shitty mattress or crappy shoes).

Mine never would have been caught if it weren't for really bad back pain as a teen...that's when I was diagnosed with moderate Scheuermann's disease (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheuermann's_disease) and mild to moderate scoliosis. 

[Jalapeñomel]

Oct 30, 2013 19:53:22 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

Oct 30, 2013 19:50:47 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I didn't even know I had it until the docs were trying to get the epidural in. And once they said it, it totally clicked on why I've had this on going pain (I just thought it was a shitty mattress or crappy shoes).

Mine never would have been caught if it weren't for really bad back pain as a teen...that's when I was diagnosed with moderate Scheuermann's disease (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheuermann's_disease) and mild to moderate scoliosis. 

My mom said I had regular checks as a kid and teenager, and no one really mentioned anything. However, my grandma had it really bad.

[Marle]

You can try that. I hate all of them. They are uncomfortable and Some move to a point where they actually make the curvature worse.

Sorry. Lack of stress and yoga help lots by again you just have to keep at it.

[mskitkat]

Same as pretty much everyone else. Lots and lots of situps and pushups, or my back gives out and I may or may not be able to walk. And I have to be careful about the shoes I wear. No flats. I need at least a 1.5 inch heel.

[rugbywife]

Oct 30, 2013 19:54:24 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Oct 30, 2013 19:53:22 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

Mine never would have been caught if it weren't for really bad back pain as a teen...that's when I was diagnosed with moderate Scheuermann's disease (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheuermann's_disease) and mild to moderate scoliosis. 

My mom said I had regular checks as a kid and teenager, and no one really mentioned anything. However, my grandma had it really bad.

It's weird because my dad is a doctor...I *think* my issues weren't really THAT bad, it's just that when I was about 15/16, I went through a span where my back was really bad...I was at boarding school and went to a doc on France, they did x-rays and stuff and diagnosed me there...my dad never thought it was a huge deal but I think it might have been because it really wasn't? 

As a kid I always sprained my ankles (hyper mobility - not diagnosed til my 30s) and there are chronic back issues in my mother's side of the family, and my brother was born with club foot (which can be bother genetic and/or due to how the baby sits in the womb).

As an adult I asked my dad about all of this and he said "you have shitty genes from your mom's side of the family when it comes to these things"...and said as long as I am in shape I should be fine...lol...doesn't really help me deal with the daily pain but I am used to it now, it is rarely debilitating.  My dad is such a phenomenal doctor, it always makes me smh that he downplays all his kids' issues.  Except for my weight and physical fitness, that he always harped on. 

[rugbywife]

I have never needed a brace, although realistically I may need a support brace at some point during this pregnancy.

Also, when I did hot yoga my core was amazing. So good for me.

[mskitkat]

Oct 30, 2013 20:01:04 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

I have never needed a brace, although realistically I may need a support brace at some point during this pregnancy.

Also, when I did hot yoga my core was amazing. So good for me.

I'm more than a little terrified of having a big pregnant belly with my back. Does a support brace help enough?

[zzuvet]

Oct 30, 2013 19:44:12 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

What is the treatment for it?

I am hoping this explains the back pain I've been suffering from for so long.

I had three serious curves making an S. It has caused me a lot of back pain because I did not have level shoulders and was compensating for the curve by holding my head off center and my hips became off center. I had surgery at 13 to try and correct the curves as much as possible. I also wore a full back brace 23 hours a day for 4 years prior to surgery. Surgery didn't fix my pain, I did gain a whole inch in height though. I am still only 4 1/2 feet tall. 

Prior to my spinal fusion I found stretching and trying to remain active and limber relieved a lot of my pain. Things like pilates or yoga. I can't do these things now. 

[zzuvet]

Oct 30, 2013 20:01:04 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

I have never needed a brace, although realistically I may need a support brace at some point during this pregnancy.

Also, when I did hot yoga my core was amazing. So good for me.

I did not need a brace with my first pregnancy but only carried to 36 weeks, I did use one with my second pregnancy and found that it put less stress on my back, but didn't really eliminate that much of the pain. I also have hyper mobile joints which I think contributed more pain in the hips and lower back than scoliosis. My scoliosis was a result of an arnold chiari malformation though.

[rugbywife]

Oct 30, 2013 20:08:51 GMT -5 zzuvet said:

Oct 30, 2013 19:44:12 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

What is the treatment for it?

I am hoping this explains the back pain I've been suffering from for so long.

I had three serious curves making an S. It has caused me a lot of back pain because I did not have level shoulders and was compensating for the curve by holding my head off center and my hips became off center. I had surgery at 13 to try and correct the curves as much as possible. I also wore a full back brace 23 hours a day for 4 years prior to surgery. Surgery didn't fix my pain, I did gain a whole inch in height though. I am still only 4 1/2 feet tall. 

Prior to my spinal fusion I found stretching and trying to remain active and limber relieved a lot of my pain. Things like pilates or yoga. I can't do these things now. 

From what I have heard it can help with the weight of the belly...I think it is more for the hypermobility issues, in that all the relaxin makes core muscles even weaker and then the belly weight starts to pull things out of line. No idea if it will help...I am only at 16 weeks and so far I am fine.

[meganew]

Oct 30, 2013 19:50:47 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I didn't even know I had it until the docs were trying to get the epidural in. And once they said it, it totally clicked on why I've had this on going pain (I just thought it was a shitty mattress or crappy shoes).

This is what happened to me. When I came in, the doc asked if I had it and I was like, "nope! Checked in middle school gym class and everything!" Then when he went to put the needle in he goes, "Uh, yes. Yes you do."

[kirra]

I have scoliosis. There isn't really a good treatment. Swimming helps.

[kirra]

zzuvet Random personal question. I just noticed you listed chiari, scoliosis, and hypermobility. Have the doctors ever looked at those as connected? I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility type, and a lot of people with EDS have chiari.

[frlcb]

I would see a doctor and get their feedback. My mom had horrible scoliosis and just had her second spinal fusion, today, actually. They are incredibly painful and she wishes she had known she had it earlier in life.

[zzuvet]

No, they haven't. I am sure it is probably all connected but the original doctor who diagnosed the chiari and the one who handled the scoliosis are in CT. I moved and haven't really seen a regular doctor since. The dr who diagnosed the hyper mobility mentioned it has an "oh by the way" after multiple dislocations.

[fivechickens]

I do. My spine has two curves in the mid to top half of my spine. My mom noticed my shoulder blade stuck out father than the other one when I was 9. At 10, I had a titanium rod fused to my spine which was to help my back as I grew. I still have it (some people have them removed eventually).

My lower back gets achey and sore at times but I don't attribute it to scoliosis just plain old age.

[Deleted]

My scoliosis is pretty bad, but not bad enough to warrant a spinal fusion or any of that stuff. I did do some sort of chiropractor/ physical therapy/ massage therapy/ etc. thing as a teen for it.....but I don't think any of that helped, it just made my mom happy.

I'm terrified of getting an epidural someday. I had a spinal tap for surgery once and it took 8 sticks for them to hit the right spot and every time they hit the wrong spot it was pure agony. For about two years my right hip would give out and I would fall to the floor. I still wonder if the anesthesiologist sucked that bad or if scoliosis was really the problem.

[kirra]

Oct 30, 2013 20:34:57 GMT -5 zzuvet said:

No, they haven't. I am sure it is probably all connected but the original doctor who diagnosed the chiari and the one who handled the scoliosis are in CT. I moved and haven't really seen a regular doctor since. The dr who diagnosed the hyper mobility mentioned it has an "oh by the way" after multiple dislocations.

It might be something to look into, or at least google. There's a whole family of connective tissue disorders, and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is one of them. It's a rare disease, so there isn't much awareness, and it's hard to find doctors. Chiari malformation isn't a symptom of EDS, but a significant percentage of people with EDS have chiari.

[Jalapeñomel]

Oct 30, 2013 20:41:07 GMT -5 papiercherri said:

My scoliosis is pretty bad, but not bad enough to warrant a spinal fusion or any of that stuff. I did do some sort of chiropractor/ physical therapy/ massage therapy/ etc. thing as a teen for it.....but I don't think any of that helped, it just made my mom happy.

I'm terrified of getting an epidural someday. I had a spinal tap for surgery once and it took 8 sticks for them to hit the right spot and every time they hit the wrong spot it was pure agony. For about two years my right hip would give out and I would fall to the floor. I still wonder if the anesthesiologist sucked that bad or if scoliosis was really the problem.

It took over an hour and what seemed like a million sticks to get it in.  But the labor pains were so awful at that point in time, I didn't even notice the pain from the sticks at all (I was at 5 cm before the epidural and at 10 cm when they finished). 

[IndiaInk]

I have mild scoliosis and I have found that getting frequent massage really helps (like every week or two weeks for a month or so until I get some relief) But what really helps has been running. My back is so much less painful since I have been running regularly - it's like night and day. It's cheap physical therapy!

[kellsbelles]

My husband is a spine surgeon-feel free to PM me with questions or if you need recommendations in your area.

[mrsjuleshs]

My moms scoliosis is so bad that she is 3" shorter than she should be and it's getting worse all the time. Her X-rays are scary and it has gotten so her ribs are now moving inward towards the front of her body. She's done braces, chiropractor which after going to her ortho doc he said could cause even more damage. Hers is so bad that the only solution would be putting rods in her back which has a down time of at least 6 months but more likely longer for her age. It's compressed discs which has led to pain in her legs from nerves being compressed. She goes in every 3 months or do to have a few nerves burned to ease the pain and also gets shots in her back I think maybe cortisol, I dunno. She religiously checked my brother and I every month growing up and checks dd all the time too. I have a slight curvature in my neck but luckily it hasn't caused any pain do far. Before she got really bad the doctors had her exercising regularly and lifting weights in a few specific exercises to help strengthen her core. It's sad to see her move like a little old lady when she wants to be so active. Even an hour of housework can do her in. She's only 54.

[childofhiphop]

Oct 30, 2013 19:46:31 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

Yes, one large curvature in the mid to low back with another in the very low back. It was once referred to as 'big c with a small s'...but it's only moderate. Combined with my hypermobility it is a bitch. My back hurts essentially every day, in varying degrees. Today I moved tables at work, so I am at about a 5...discomfort but not pain.

Twin!

Mine was diagnosed at 17 1/2 y.o. I was told that it was too late to correct (?) by a year since I had already stopped growing. Only manage. It's been a hurting back for all my life it seems.

Managing has been so-so with years of chiropractic care, stretching etc.

Now I also have RA located in my spine so I feel like I'm back to square one.