Scoliosis Deserves Special Consideration

The chronic pain from scoliosis deserves special consideration. This skeletal deformity of the spine can be obvious or obscure. Either way, scoliosis can cause a pain in the neck, mid-back, or low back. What exactly is scoliosis? In technical terms, scoliosis is a lateral curvature of the spine occurring in the coronal plane.

What the heck does that mean?

If you look at a normal spine from the back, the spine lines up, like an "I", straight from head to tail. If you look at a spine with scoliosis from the back, the normal straight line of the spine is curved like a "C" or an "S" or an evil looking snake. Seventy percent of the cases are classified as "Idiopathic Scoliosis", meaning that the cause is unknown. Sometimes scoliosis occurs in the infantile stage (below the age of 4 years old). Sometimes scoliosis occurs in the juvenile stage (ages 4 years to 9 years). However, most of the time, scoliosis occurs in adolescents (from age 10 years old to skeletal maturity). A majority of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis is seen in girls, by far, rather than boys.

Getting back to the concept of "skeletal maturity"; as one grows, the bones grow also until the growth plates (the place in the bone where new bone is formed) fuse. Once the growth plates fuse together that skeleton is considered mature and stops growing. Why is bone growth important? Not only is the degree of curvature important for determining treatment, but the maturity of the skeleton is also very important to evaluate. As a young girl's bones and spine grows, the severity of the scoliosis can rapidly progress (very rapidly in some cases). Thus, during this adolescent stage, young girls should be screened for scoliosis and, if scoliosis is present, frequent and regular monitoring is extremely important. Without proper treatment, the spinal curve can progress into an evil "snake" that can cause problems like chronic pain or breathing problems (thoracic insufficiency). All the problems associated with this skeletal deformity of the spine deserve special consideration, especially pain.

The pain associated with scoliosis is primarily due to poor alignment and poor balance. An improperly aligned spine can lead to a greater degree of degeneration of the spinal discs, a greater load on the ligaments that hold the spine together, and a greater amount of stress on the small joints in the spine. All of this adds up to pains in the neck, mid-back, and low back. Sometimes surgery can correct the alignment by straightening the spine with heavy metal: rods, screws, and wire. These types of surgery are very complex and can be very risky. Besides, surgery may not necessarily cure the pains, but it can definitely help relieve pinched nerves or crowded internal organs. Another consideration when talking about spine alignment is its effect on the shoulders and the pelvis. Both of these areas can become greatly impaired by misalignment and should be the focus of a rehabilitation program. Strengthening of the shoulder muscles and butt muscles can relieve the chronic pain associated with scoliosis by helping to maintain better alignment of these joints. Muscle strength can compensate for skeletal deformities and poor alignment to a certain extent.