I have scoliosis. Should I go for surgery?

Question

I was diagnosed with scoliosis when i was 12. Wore a brace for three years until now,but my curve progressed from 25 degrees to the current 48 degrees. Apparently the doctor said the brace didn't help me at all but if i didn't wear it the curve would have gotten worse. Now he's advising me to go for surgery. I'm still in a brace currently but its really unbearable and uncomfortable for me. I have to attend a cross-country activity which is compulsory by the school tomorrow,should I run with my brace? I know its gonna be really hot but what does it do for me if i stop wearing it for about 5 hours? And does anyone know of good exercises to strengthen to muscles around the spine or my back?

sorry for asking so many questions.

Answer 1

I was 15 when I had surgery to correct a 72 degree curve. Im 39 now and living a pretty normal life and in less pain now than I was then. Scoliosis can be a big scary deal, but life does go on. For me taekwando (martial art with lots of kicking) has really helped strengthen the muscles of the lower back and reduced my episodes of pain. Swimming and yoga type exercises have also been a great help over the years.  You need to cultivate a relationship with your doctor where you feel you can ask him/her questions about when to wear the brace. What do your parents think? This is really a question for your doctor weather to run with  the brace or not.

Answer 2

I'm answering these in reverse order.

You should get exercises from your doctor or from a physical therapist.

You could take the brace off for the run but your back will probably be really tired soon after you took it off.

Surgery is a really good idea for you.  There are a couple of reasons.  First, your brace isn't meant to correct your curve.  Its meant to keep the curve from increasing -or- slow the rate at which your curve is increasing.  Since your curve increased quite a bit (22 degrees over three years is a lot!), it means that your curve may keep increasing significantly over time.  So if you don't have back pain now, there's a good chance that you will be hurting.  Even if you aren't hurting, if your curve gets really large, your heart and lungs have a good chance of being squeezed.  If that happens, you'd have health problems for the rest of your life, over and above the problems with your back and ribs.  Nerves can be pinched causing numbness, etc.  I think you get the idea.

I'm going to give you a bit more information.  I hope it is helpful to you and your parents.

I've posted the following a few times for other people with questions. I hope I'll answer the things that have you concerned.

Scoliosis comes mainly in two flavors - functional (the curve is caused by another issue (uneven leg length for example) and structural.  There are two main kinds of structural scoliosis - congenital (present at birth) and idiopathic (unknown cause).  It is important for you to know what kind you have.

If you have functional scoliosis, a chiropractor may be able to help.  Shoe lifts may help with uneven legs, but there can be many causes of functional scoliosis.  I don't have much experience with functional scoliosis.

If you have structural scoliosis, there's not a lot you can do.  The main treatments depend on how bad the curve is and how much more growth you have to go.  Its not possible to predict how much or how fast a curve may increase.

You need to see a scoliosis specialist if you're not doing that already. A doctor that is not trained as a scoliosis specialist doesn't have the expertise to treat it.

Any curve under 10 degrees is considered normal and probably isn't monitored.

Curves from 10-25 degrees are mild but should be monitored, especially if you're still growing.

Curves from 25-40 degrees are moderate with bracing possible. You will need monitoring, especially if you're still growing.

Surgery may be recommended if your curve doesn't respond to bracing. Bracing will do no good if you're through growing. The purpose of a brace isn't to make your curve better, but rather to keep the curve from becoming worse.

Curves greater than 45 degrees is major. Surgery may be recommended. This depends on many things, but whether you're done growing, whether your curve is increasing, whether your heart and lungs are in danger of being squeezed by your curve, whether you're in pain, quality of life, etc.

If your curve is over 30 degrees, there is a good chance that it will increase even when you're through growing.  (Mine did.)

Unfortunately, nothing can *fix* idiopathic scoliosis. Surgery can keep the curve from getting worse, and in most cases, will reduce the curve but most likely your spine won't be straight (unless you are very flexible in the area to be fused, then you might be lucky).

Chiropractors, message therapists, acupuncturists, etc., can't fix idiopathic scoliosis. These people adjust the soft, connective tissues and that may (or may not, you can't tell ahead of time) make you feel better, but remember, idiopathic scoliosis is not a connective tissue disease. Your spine is growing curved.