Scoliosis

What is Scoliosis?

When looking at the spine from the front or back the spine should appear straight.  Scoliosis is when you have an abnormal curve in the spine. If the curve is more than 20 degrees this is not considered scoliosis. If the curve is over 20 degrees, but under 40 degrees this is typically something that does not require surgery. Children are often checked for scoliosis in school as part of a regular physical exam.  Kyphosis (a reversed neck curve) is a curve in the spine seen from the side in which the spine is bent forward.

Do I really have scoliosis?

Scoliosis is one of the most misdiagnosed conditions we see. Scoliosis is defined by a 20 degree lateral convexity in the spine. Meaning anything such as a mild curve in the spine is not scoliosis, but compensatory stress building up in the back. Think of it like this, if you have a rolled ankle you would not want to put pressure on that foot so that you don’t irritate the ankle right? When you have this you tend to shift your body weight over to the other leg and that therefore puts a tilt in your pelvis. This tilt goes into your low back and creates stress in the lumbar spine. This stress builds and it can create what are called stress curves in your spine. These curves range from 1-15 degrees. These curves are very manageable once we figure out why you have the curve in the first place. One of the biggest causes of these curves are spinal subluxations. When you have jammed a joint in the back or the pelvis your body will naturally try to alleviate the pressure to that area. Subluxations can contorts your posture giving you one leg longer than another or giving you a high shoulder on one side vs. another.

Can Scoliosis cause severe low back pain?

Scoliosis can cause pain in children,teens, and even adults. When back pain is present with scoliosis, it may be because the curve in the spine is causing stress and pressure on the spinal discs, nerves, muscles, ligaments, or facet joints. At our Helena office we work to restore balance in the spine by evening out the pressure in the spine. If you or your child has been diagnosed with scoliosis in the past, please bring in all the X-rays that you have previously taken. We are able to view both traditional and digital X-rays in our Helena chiropractic office.

Childhood is the best age to check scoliosis

Scoliosis is something we often check children for.  Since children are growing, it is possible to make some healthy changes to their spinal health.  If your child has been diagnosed with scoliosis, the treatment can sometimes be to “watch and monitor”. In other cases, adjustments can be done to help the spine grow in an ideal way. X-rays are usually used to visualize exactly what is going on. X-rays can also be used to monitor the curve.  A progressive curve is one that has increased by more than 5 degrees.

If you or your child are experiencing symptoms of scoliosis call our team of Helena Chiropractors at Balanced Chiropractic today.