Scoliosis diagnosis question

[valger59]

Hello~
   Thanks in advance for any help!  My daughter is 12 years old, and was recently diagnosed with scoliosis.  We just found out this past week, and are scheduled to see a specialist this coming week.  I've been doing alot of research online, and so I was anxious to find out her degree of curvature.  However, I was only given limited information from the doctor because I spoke with his nurse, and I don't think either one of us could interpret the radiology report correctly.  I was expecting a call back from the doctor on Friday, but it never came.  Anyway, she read to me over the phone what the report stated, and I was wondering if anyone could help me interpret this.  She said "Moderate Scoliosis with a major curve in the mid-thoracic range of 18 degrees.  I was at first alarmed by the word "major", but after looking online, found that might be a term used to describe a certain area of the spine, rather than meaning "huge" or something.  I was also sort of relieved with the 18 degrees, thinking that was on the milder side, but then why would it say "Moderate Scoliosis"?  Anyuway, as you can see, it's so hard to interpret these kinds of things, but was wondering if anyone might know what this might mean.  She is not in any pain, but does have a noticeable hump on her right back, especially when bending over.  I am so worried for her right now, and can't wait until we see the specialist, I have so many questions!!  I heard scoliosis can cause heart and lung problems, so this has me very worried.  Thanks again for any help!  Val

[orphanannie59]

My son has scoliosis, 13 degrees in his lower spine.  He was diagnosed when he was 13.  The specialist told us it wasn't bad enough to do anything and to watch it.  I also read alot on-line and found it happens in girls more, but most of the bad c ases they were much younger than your daughter.  I wouldn't worry too much, especially since she is having no problems.  They could possibly put her in a brace to keep it from getting worse.  I am like you though, I don't like the "major" part of the report. 18 degrees doesn't sound bad, but you don't want it to get worse, she has a lot of growing to do. Sorry I am rambling, but I wanted to try to make you feel a little better.  Keep us posted after the Dr appt.

[FloridaSunshine]

I am 57 yr old woman, who just found out I have 23degree in my middle back and never knew.  I read somewhere it has to be over 30 degree to be worth doing anything.

[valger59]

Hi~~
    Thank you so much for the responses, it did make me feel a lot better!  It is very hard to interpret a report like that over the phone, I don't even know if it might have had a different degree on the lower spine or something, I really don't know anything.  And, I think I mentioned this, the "major" word is not a medical term used, or should be used, in description of something like that, because of course it is an opinion.  After looking it up, I think that "major" is a way to describe what type of curve it is.  I think there is major, and there is compensatory, and I'm not sure which is worse, or what that means.  I'm sure I'll be finding out alot more soon.  Her appointment is Thursday, and I'll keep you posted!  I was concerned today, because we took about an hour or so drive, and when we got out, she said that she had a lower back ache, but it didn't last long, but she has never said that before.  Maybe she is hearing us talk about it alot.  It's hard, because on the one hand, I want her to know about this, and know the good things to do for herself all through her life, such as exercise and yoga (if I do find out that is good for her)....but on the other hand, I don't want her to think something is seriously wrong, and obsess about it.  It's so hard, because this is a tough age anyway.  And, going online is scary, because some places say scoliosis is something that you can live a very normal life with, and have a normal life span, but other sites are more gloomy.  I really still can't figure out if this is a really serious thing, or sort of something she can live a normal life with.  I was surprised when one of the sites did mention a life-span thing, I was thinking, wow, I hadn't even thought of it being such a serious disease.  I have heard that many people have mild cases of scoliosis and don't even know it.  Well, thanks again for the help, I really appreciate it!  Val

[PlateletGal]

I have scoliosis and have never had to wear a brace. I think the last time I was measured was when I was 14 years old and my curve was also 18 degrees. The only thing physicians' did was take X-Rays every so often, until I stopped growing. They also gave me exercises to do to help my back and back pain.

[sdcrosby1]

I have had moderate scoliosis since I was diagnosed at the age of 11 with a 40 degree curve. I was fitted with a brace but only wore it when my parents were around. It was embarrasing and hard to find clothes to fit over it. I had lots of back pain through out my adolecsence until I started doing regular yoga and excersice, it has made a huge difference for me. At 23, more xrays were taken and found that my curve had progressed some to 46 degrees, causing me major problems twice both times minor car accidnets. At 25 I became pregnant and saw a chiropractor through out my pregnancy to relive back pain, which went away along with the weight that I lost. I contiued yoga and excersice almost daily until I got pregnant with my second child, I gained less weight this time and found that I only had to see my chiropractor a few times. I am now thirty and still excersice regularly. I have fewer back troubles than when I was younger even participating in more in physical activities. I do have pain often but have learned that stretching usually helps. My only compliant with it now is that I am having a hard time finding health insurance to cover me, even though I have never made cliams against my insurance for my scoliosis.

[sdcrosby1]

I have had moderate scoliosis since I was diagnosed at the age of 11 with a 40 degree curve. I was fitted with a brace but only wore it when my parents were around. It was embarrasing and hard to find clothes to fit over it. I had lots of back pain through out my adolecsence until I started doing regular yoga and excersice, it has made a huge difference for me. At 23, more xrays were taken and found that my curve had progressed some to 46 degrees, causing me major problems twice both times minor car accidnets. At 25 I became pregnant and saw a chiropractor through out my pregnancy to relive back pain, which went away along with the weight that I lost. I contiued yoga and excersice almost daily until I got pregnant with my second child, I gained less weight this time and found that I only had to see my chiropractor a few times. I am now thirty and still excersice regularly. I have fewer back troubles than when I was younger even participating in more in physical activities. I do have pain often but have learned that stretching usually helps. My only compliant with it now is that I am having a hard time finding health insurance to cover me, even though I have never made cliams against my insurance for my scoliosis.

[sdcrosby1]

I have had moderate scoliosis since I was diagnosed at the age of 11 with a 40 degree curve. I was fitted with a brace but only wore it when my parents were around. It was embarrasing and hard to find clothes to fit over it. I had lots of back pain through out my adolecsence until I started doing regular yoga and excersice, it has made a huge difference for me. At 23, more xrays were taken and found that my curve had progressed some to 46 degrees, causing me major problems twice both times minor car accidnets. At 25 I became pregnant and saw a chiropractor through out my pregnancy to relive back pain, which went away along with the weight that I lost. I contiued yoga and excersice almost daily until I got pregnant with my second child, I gained less weight this time and found that I only had to see my chiropractor a few times. I am now thirty and still excersice regularly. I have fewer back troubles than when I was younger even participating in more in physical activities. I do have pain often but have learned that stretching usually helps. My only compliant with it now is that I am having a hard time finding health insurance to cover me, even though I have never made cliams against my insurance for my scoliosis.

[sdcrosby1]

I have had moderate scoliosis since I was diagnosed at the age of 11 with a 40 degree curve. I was fitted with a brace but only wore it when my parents were around. It was embarrasing and hard to find clothes to fit over it. I had lots of back pain through out my adolecsence until I started doing regular yoga and excersice, it has made a huge difference for me. At 23, more xrays were taken and found that my curve had progressed some to 46 degrees, causing me major problems twice both times minor car accidnets. At 25 I became pregnant and saw a chiropractor through out my pregnancy to relive back pain, which went away along with the weight that I lost. I contiued yoga and excersice almost daily until I got pregnant with my second child, I gained less weight this time and found that I only had to see my chiropractor a few times. I am now thirty and still excersice regularly. I have fewer back troubles than when I was younger even participating in more in physical activities. I do have pain often but have learned that stretching usually helps. My only compliant with it now is that I am having a hard time finding health insurance to cover me, even though I have never made cliams against my insurance for my scoliosis.

[sdcrosby1]

     I have had moderate scoliosis since I was diagnosed at the age of 11 with a 40 degree curve. We discussed having surgery to fix it, but luckely my parents were not able to afford it. I say luckely because I would not be able to be as active as I am today. Instead I was fitted with a brace but only wore it when my parents were around. It was embarrasing to wear and hard to find clothes to fit over it. I had lots of back pain through out my adolescence until I started doing yoga and excersice regularly.
     At age 23, more xrays were taken and found that my curve had progressed to 46 degrees, causing me major problems only twice, both times minor car accidnets. At 25 I became pregnant and saw a chiropractor through out my pregnancy to relive back pain, which went away along with the weight that I lost. I contiued yoga and excersice almost daily until I got pregnant with my second child, I gained less weight this time and found that I only had to see my chiropractor a few times. Neither pregnancies were affected by my scoliosis. I am now 30 years old and still excersice regularly. I have fewer back troubles than when I was younger even though I participate in more physical activities now. I do have pain often but have learned that stretching and abdominal excersise helps best. My only compliant now is that I am having a hard time finding health insurance to cover me, even though I have never made cliams against my insurance for my scoliosis.  
     My point is that even with moderate scoliosis you can live a very normal life. From everything that I have learned, moderate scoliosis is between 20-70 degrees. I believe that 18 degrees would fall into the minor catagory. There is no affect on life span for moderate cases. There is no affect on heart and lungs in moderate cases. I dont have any limitations due to my back. I would never have surgery to fix my scoliosis. I have found that regular excersise works for me, and has made me healthier overall because of it.

[hlwteacher]

I am 25 and I was diagnosed with moderate scoliosis at age 12. My mother's orthopedic surgeon got me into Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas where I went for x-rays and checkups every 6 months until I was 16. The doctors decided that I was never officially bad enough to be put in a brace. I never went back. I was actively in ballet until I was 22. I have a noticeable arch in my back on the right side. When I stand upright, you cannot tell that I have scoliosis, however when I bend over it is very prominent. I was teased a bit in school, especially in dance classes when we did certain movements. I think it worsened a little since my last visit at the hospital. I've cried about it more times than I can count. I wish I had been put in a brace now that its all said and done, but I am okay. I am not as self-conscious about it as I was when I was a teen. I do still avoid certain clothing and am careful when I bend over to bend at the knees and squat down to pick up something if I am around other people. Its always in the back of my mind. I am suprised by the people I have met that also have scoliosis. Three of my closest friends have it and it makes me not feel so much like an alien. I don't think any guy ever noticed it; only girls. Girls are just mean. I suppose if I didn't have scoliosis, they would have picked at something else! My advice is that if there is something you can do about it now, do it. I wish we would have.

[xoshannon93]

i am 14 and i found out i had scolosis. i have an 18 degree curve in my back, but you couldnt even tell!! my mom called an orthopedic, and im going to start physical therapy in a couple of weeks. i cant wait!! the doctor thinks its because one of my legs are longer, so i will have to wear a 1/2 inch block in my show until my other leg catches up. I CANT WAIT TO HEAL MY SCOLIOSIS!!!!

[Emilyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

Last month, I was diagnosed with mild/moderate scoliosis. It is more on the moderate side of things. I'm a 12 year old girl. I was a bit intimidated and nervous, wondering if I needed surgery or not. So today, I had my appointment to go and see the orthopedic specialist so they could x-ray my back and see what treatments I'd need. So, they x-rayed me and then when I waited in the check-out room, thje orthopedic came in and said I had a curve of 30 degrees. She gave me a sheet to go to an orthopedic store to have me fitten for a brace. I'd have to wear it 16 hours a day and I could take it off for 8 hours. I chose that the 8 house I don't have to wear it would be when I go to school because it would show through my clothing and be very noticable. She said if the curve gets to 40 degrees or higher... surgery will be discussed and probably needed. She said that the brace doesn't heal scoliosis, but it will keep it from getting worse and having the curve progress. I'm happy that I'm getting the brace so my scoliosis won't get worse and the curve won't progress; but I'm nervous that for some reason, the curve might progress and for some "odd" reason I might need surgery. Do you think I'll need surgery? I'm getting my brace in 2-3 weeks. I have to go back on September 6th, to get x-rayed with the brace on to see if it's doing anything. Am I going to be alright? Should I be worried in any way, shape, or form? Please advise!

[BrandySny]

I'm a 27 year old female with a 30+ degree S curve.  I've been to physical therapy and just recently started seeing a chiropractor.  I have mild aches and pains in my shoulder blade area and my lower back.  It is very important to make sure you have an adequate intake of Vitamins D and K, and that you're getting enough Calcium (strengthens bones), and drinking lots of water (supports the disks).  Exercise is very important - going to see a Physical Therapist to learn exercises to help strengthen the surrounding muscles was probably the best thing I've ever done.  A lot of the exercises are very silmiar to Yoga (stretching and strengthening).  The jury is still out on the Chiropractor.  NEITHER can fix or correct your curvature.  It can help your posture though - you can achieve a cosmetic correction from the exterior to some degree by helping your muslces to get strong and pull you back into alignment.  The only thing you can do to actually correct the curve is spinal fusion surgery.  Even then, they don't usually achieve full correction - most people still have a degree of curvature in the low teens.  Also, the surgery can cause a lot of problems down the road for people later in life - it should absolutely be a last resort - only if your scoliosis continues to get worse and it is causing more than just discomfort.  Although I hate the disfigurement from my scoliosis, I've known others who've had the surgery and witnessed first hand the havoc it can wreak on your quality of life and general wellness.  One of my friends has had to have three surgeries - each surgeon she goes to criticizes what the last surgeon she saw did.  It is very difficult to find consistent treatment for this condition.  I feel strongly that you should listen to your body and your own inner voice and always give your intiution the biggest say in any decisions you make about your health.  You are the one who had to live with the consequences, no one else.  

[MKappelmann]

Sorry about the blank post, hit the wrong button! Can you list the exercises you do? I have a 21 degree S curve & would like to have a program to do. Thank you

[MKappelmann]

[JAG31189]

I was diagnosed with MINIMAL scoliosis at mid 17.i am now 18 and VERY curious about finding out more about my scoliosis.My chiropracter did not tell me at what degree it was at the time,just that it was minimal.I was prescribed two certain medications and that was that.Is there a way to find out what degree my scoliosis is ? ,and how ? Also,I wanted to know if scoliosis can progress and get worse ? PLEASE help me inform myself,Im scared to death due to the fact I am not fully informed and this is a very serious condition,as well as other conditions I suffer from like...severe asthma,severe allergies,migraines,severe backpain,siactica (Im currenty 5 monthes pregnant),and bad joints.

Please contact me at ***@**** with info. THANKS !

[Drchatol]

i has scolioses at 14 yrs old in 1975, and had the surgery also done from that same year.. with harrington rods placed on both sides of my spine.  i am curious to  know that if scolioses  is the cause of muscle tension  all over the scalp, forehead, neck and shoulders. i had this muscle tension since 1982, and its never went away and is still here til this day. its annoying, i try things like ***** my scalp and neck with a needle because its very irritating in my daily life, and i believe that it is the cause of  my anxiety and  not  being my old self, like i used to be back in 1980 and from the 70s.  i massage my scalp, it lloosens up but  then slowly eases back. its apreciated that somebody tell me something, and what can i do to get rid o fall together. i am sooooo fed up with this spasm vase like feeling. sometimes i just feelin like giving up on life because i can t tolorate this feeling. ( its a big nuisance) thank you.


Drchat

10/ 30/ 07

[Drchatol]

I had scolioses surgery back in 1975 with harrington rods on my spine. i dont know if this has anything to with the rods or the spine, but back in 1982 i developed a vice type of pressure all over my scalp, my neck and my shoulders thats that is still here til this year. no matter what neck exercises and head rolls i do... nothing helps but makes me sleepy. it causes me my forehead to tighten up as well and i believe its the causing of my nervousness. if anybody has any answers to my problem, or can relate to what im saying it would appreciated if you could help me on this. thank u.

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[mnature]

My son is 17 now and when he was 14 he had a 19 degree curvature and now it's progressed to 57 degrees. The doctors told us not to worry back then because it wasn't severe but guess what it is now. I'm surprised no one talks about the Clear Institute which is getting amazing results, quickly and non-surgically without bracing. Check it out at www.clear-institute.com there are doctors practicing these techniques in almost every state. It's worth trying to fight it even now before it has a chance to progress. We were treated as if scoliosis was not a big deal, but now that we have the facts: the shortened life span and diminished heart and lung function, it's not just cosmetic it's serious. It causes a lot of people a lot of pain.
Best of luck in your journey.

[Joeykbarry]

I also was diagnosed when I was 13 with scoliosis. I was sent to Stanford Childrens hospital by my attending Docotr at teh time for a check up. I was measured at 13 degrees and was told its mild and nothing really they could do.

I had a follow up appointment at age 15. My scoliosis had worsened by 3 degrees to 16 degree curve. Once again we were told its normal, you could grow out of it, theres nothing you cant do physically so continue playing Football/baseball/wrestle.

Follow-up appointment age 17 worsened to 18 degrees.  Same answers as before no change.

Military physical age 18   Scoliosis was now 21 degrees and I was disqualified by the Surgeon General for the military for life from the military.

At age 18 no Docotor would do anything to help at the time since a males bones are still growing till around the age of 22.  Mind you I was seeing Docotrs at the Childrens Hospital at Stanford University a so-called Leader in Scoliosis care.

Skip ahead to age 36 now very happily married with 2 small children ages 4 and 2.
Im having major back pain so I go see my NEW docotr at the ripe old age of 55.  AFter several tests, consults and many x-rays. Im told my scoliosis had progressed to 68 degree curve, my spine was curving towards the heart and the skeletal pressure was cutting off the blood supply comming out of my heart.  I was given a near  future  of total disability and possible death unless we had a surgery to support the spine, correct the scoliosis to some degree and give me a positive future.

Now Im 38 2 years post surgery that went absolutely FANTASTIC LIfe was great.
I had a work related back injury that has damaged the rods in my back and Im currently searching for answers to releive my daily pain.

So, PLEAse do everything you can and explore all options like you are seeming to do at the moment. If you have any detail questions feel free to email me and Id  be glad to share my wealth of knowledge from the many months of research i did pre-surgery and the many months since.

I pray your daughter will be fine and you and your family are doing well !!!

Joey Barry

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