Anyone have scoliosis?

kgail11 · November 2010

I just went to my first EVER chiropractic appt - and apparently I have scoliosis!! He said it very casually and very quickly upon looking at me... then proceeded to say how it can be fatal down the road. WTF. So, needless to say I am not going back to THIS doctor bc of his lack of bedside manner - but I am researching chiropractors for further appts.

Anyone here have scoliosis - tell me anything!!! I am 29 yrs old and had no freakin' clue I had this. :>/

Soon2BMRS615 · November 2010

I do not, but one of my good friends does. I would have a very detailed official diagnosis. I know that my friend is not allowed to have an epidural bc of hers. You definitely want to know something like that before LO comes.

fluffybuns · November 2010

I don't know very much about it, but I would think if it wasn't bad enough that you didn't know about it until now that it most likely won't have such severe side effects such as death.

You may have more back trouble than most, or may not ever notice. Who knows, but I don't think the guy should have put it the way he did. Some people should not have jobs where they interact with other human beings!

Sandy0904 · November 2010

I have a mild scoliosis and it has not bothered me in any way. I had a spinal for my c-section and it was not a problem. I find it very odd that a chiropractor would say such a thing to you.

Koro627 · November 2010

I have scoliosis and so does my Mom. I wore a back brace for a year and a half when I was younger to correct it. I have moderate back pain but I see a chiropractor and it is definitely not an issue. I cant believe that your doctor said that to you-I have NEVER heard that scoliosis can be fatal, especially if you have such a mild case that it wasnt picked up until now. I wouldnt worry about it at all

UndecidedChange · November 2010

Yes!

But I had it diagnosed when I was 11, and I had spinal fusion back then (it was pretty bad).

There are several options depending on what degree and what kind of curvature you have. Do you have these details?

The "positive" thing is that it doesn't progress too much when you're an adult (as opposed to when you're a kid and growing).

And advances to spinal everything has been dramatic since. I still would opt to go to an ortho specialist, mostly because chiros can do a bit to prevent further curvature and relieve the pain a bit, but you want to make sure that it is in fact not growing. And get bone densities, etc, to make sure that you're not in line for fractures, etc.

Sorry. and good luck.

Angel0423 · November 2010

I have scoliosis, a pretty significant curve, and had to wear a back brace in middle school. The curve stopped progressing once I started puberty. I have had no trouble, no back pain. A scoliosis would have to be pretty severe to be fatal, at that point it would be very obvious with one of your shoulders much higher that the the other and a visable curve in your spine just at observation. The risk is that your lungs would not have room to expand if the curve progressed too far. This still would not kill you, but if you were elderly and in poor health you would have risk for pneumonia which can be fatal untreated. Please do not think a chiro or anyone else can fix your scoliosis no matter what they say. I would be cautious in having any high velocity manipulations performed on my spine as that could result in instability over time.

cekelly11 · November 2010

I have scoliosis, fairly mild and never needed a brace to correct it but I had no problem with my epi(it was wonderful). My sister had a more severe case and wore a brace for a few years and she was never told she couldn't have an epi. I would get another opinion

mrs pH · November 2010

I have mild scoliosis. It doesn't affect my life in anyway and it doesn't cause any pain.

I agree with the pp who suggested going to another doctor and getting a proper diagnosis. I never heard of scoliosis being fatal but I'm sure it can cause complications down the road if you have a bad enough case and it's not treated properly. I would say if you have gone this long without a doctor diagnosing you with scoliosis, then I would think it's safe to say that it's a very mild case.

For more peace of mind, here's some info from Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/scoliosis/

chelsea_ems_fire · November 2010

I have a form of scoliosis called lordosis. Instead of my spine curving to the left or right, my spine curves IN more than normal at my stomach, making my stomach stick out more. When I went to see a specialist at 15, he was quite rude and actually told me "your back is terrible, it looks like an 80 year old's, and there is nothing I can do for you, your f***ed". Ya, that was lovely at 15. BUT, I have a lot more back problems than just lordosis. Degenerative disk arthritis, pinched nerves, herniating disks, yadda yadda. I used to get A LOT of pain from it, only thing that would help would be to take an insane amount of pain meds, and take a bath. But the last 2 years, I have hardly ANY pain what so ever! Blessing from God perhaps? All I know is, I am so glad that I chose this time to be pregnant, because I don't think my back could have handled it before.

As far as the epidural, I never thought about that before......I'm going to need to talk to the doctor about this Tuesday.....

elisbu · November 2010

I was told when I was 13 that I have a very mild case. The only way you can tell is if you stand directly in front of me, you can see that one shoulder is lower than the other.

It has not stopped me from doing anything, maybe downward facing dog in Yog?, I do not find that pose relaxing at all!!

Tell the doc to shove it, you're fine!

kgail11 · November 2010

Thanks all!! I wasn't expecting this many responses!!

I am calling around today to sched another appt ELSEWHERE.

michelerenee78 · November 2010

I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was about 8 or 9. I had to wear a back brace for a couple of years before having a spinal fusion at 14. I have never heard of this being fatal. I also do not think its appropriate for a chiropractor to tell this. I would definitely get an opinion from someone who specializes in this.

Its interesting that you didnt know you had it, I thought that most schools test kids for it nowadays....

meaganrn · November 2010

What a jerk! If you have gone 29 years without anyone telling you this, I would guess that even if you have some spinal scoliosis it is fairly mild. For scoliosis to be fatal, as he so nicely mentioned, it has to progress a significant degree where a person would have symptoms of heart failure or potentially thoracic compression and restrictive lung disease. I would take a deep breath and relax. See another specialist who has a bit more tact, I would recommend an spinal orthopedist instead of a chiropractor (but plenty of people like chiros so that's just my opinion). As a side note, scoliosis has to be incredibly severe to limit epidurals and spinals for labor pain management (only mentioning this since another post referred to it) so that should not be a concern for you.

marydiggins5689 · November 2010

Don't worry! You are 29 and they only do corrective surgery if the curvature of your spine increases so much during purberty when you are growing. My husband has it and his curve is an "S" and pretty big (enough to give him a lot of back pain) but he never had corrective surgery (he is 6'1") becuase when growing it did not progress enough for it to be a threat to any of his organs!

My sister, however has it and when in 7th grade had a metal rod sodered to her spine (she could not have the epidural with her children). My point is, unless you are 14 and having a growth spurt in which they will measure the curvature of your spine each doc visit, to see if corrective surgery is necessary, then you are fine! I would run it by your doctor before a chiropractor, most definitely! It may just cause you more back pain during pregnancy since your not quite in line.

croberts22 · November 2010

I have a mild form. I never needed a brace but did have to get x-rays every 6 months or a year from the time they found it (about 12/13) until I stopped growing. I now have mild back pain that may be from either the scoliosis or from fibromyalgia. The doctor isn't sure and until it get worse, there is no point in doing anything extra.

IMO, the doctor you seen is a moron to tell you those things and I'm glad you are not going back. GL finding a chiropractor with some manners.

xenia2708 · November 2010

WOW...i would have never expected this amount of ppl to have scoliosis. I too was diagnosed with it at the age of 11. I have a somewhat noticable curve, however to the the position of the curve I don't suffer from back pain or the like. I wore a back brace at one point in time but i never did the surgery to correct it since in my country and the whole of the Caribbean, there is only one doctor willing to perform the operation. My OB said that it was nothing to worry about and it that it would not affect L& D @ all. He acutally laugh when I asked him if it would have been a problem.

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