What is Scoliosis?
Scoliosis is abnormal lateral curvature of the spine. Scoliosis can occur anywhere along the spinal column, but it most commonly occurs in the thoracic and lumbar spine. Scoliosis can arise at birth (congenital scoliosis), as the child grows (sometimes called idiopathic scoliosis or juvenile scoliosis), adolescence (adolescent idiopathic scoliosis), or most commonly, it can occur as degenerative scoliosis. Scoliosis comes in different degrees of severity. Mild scoliosis is only apparent on x-rays. On the other hand, severe scoliosis can cause significant deformation of the spinal curve, muscle weakness, and pain.
What Are The Symptoms of Scoliosis?
Cervical myelopathy can cause a wide variety of symptoms. A common symptom is experiencing some degree of neck pain, as there is usually degeneration in the neck that has caused spinal cord compression. In addition to neck pain, patients often have clumsy upper extremity function and difficulty with fine motor skills.
Cervical myelopathy can cause difficulty buttoning shirts and lead to changes in handwriting. Patients with early symptoms may also experience some numbness or weakness in the hands or arms. In addition to these symptoms, patients may experience difficulty with balance and coordination problems. They may find that walking on uneven terrain is more difficult than it used to be for them, or they may require the use of rails when going up and down stairs.
In more severe forms of cervical myelopathy, patients may require the use of canes or walkers to maintain balance. Severe cases of spinal cord compression can cause bowel or bladder dysfunction.
How Do Spine Specialists Diagnose Scoliosis?
Spine doctors typically diagnose scoliosis based solely on X-rays and a medical history. The spine doctor takes an X-ray of the entire spine, allowing for a comprehensive examination of the scoliosis severity, rather than just examining a portion of the spine individually (i.e., lumbar or thoracic X-rays alone). Your orthopaedic spine surgeon in Dallas, Dr. Michael Wheeler, can help with these types of X-ray imaging.
What Are Scoliosis Treatments?
Scoliosis is usually initially managed with conservative treatment, observation, and physical therapy. Treatment for scoliosis depends on the patient’s age. In adolescent scoliosis, the body is still developing quickly, and curve progression cab be quite rapid. Adolescent scoliosis is sometimes treated with back brace depending upon the severity of the curve as the patient reached skeletal maturity. As an adult, scoliosis does not require a surgical treatment most of the time. In situations where the scoliosis is significant or causing significant impact on quality of life, the Dallas spine surgeon may recommend surgery.
Let’s Talk About Your Options
If you’re trying to decide whether surgery makes sense — or just want to understand what recovery would look like for your specific situation — that’s exactly the kind of conversation I have in consultation.
