Thoracic Scoliosis?

[LNC]

My daughter has a thoracic curve - I can't remember the degree but very significant, not enough for surgery. She was checked by a pediatrician at a well visit at almost 11 and had mild/moderate scoliosis - and we were told to be sure to have it checked in a year. We went back at 12yo for another well visit - but by that year she grew 5 inches and had her time of the month a couple months after turning 11. So, her scoliosis was severe at that well visit and we were referred to the orthopedic dr. Ortho said she would have braced my daughter if we had caught her right at the beginning of her growth spurt, but her curve at the beginning of the spurt was mild - so no one could have known??? Since she was so many months out from her time of the month starting she felt like her growth spurt was nearing an end.

 

Ortho felt the reason for daughter's scoliosis was that she had a spontaneous pneumothorax as a newborn with a chest tube. Has anyone heard of that???

 

Daughter also has femoral anteversion causing knock knees, intoeing and tons of trouble with her ballet progression. Maybe all of that is the root of why this is all getting to her.

 

Her thoracic "hump" is huge and noticeable in clothing and she has trouble sitting in our homeschool chair all morning. I have a pillow behind her but she's really uncomfortable. She is very thin and long limbed and the hump just sticks out so prominently that the should blade is getting dug into whatever chair she's in. She says her back hurts all the time, but I think it is the shoulder blade and "hump" hurting from bearing all the leaning back when she sits.

 

Should we go back to the ortho? Maybe for a physical therapy referral? The ortho said she may grow another inch or 2 after this summer - she's 5'5" and I'm 5'7" - maybe her new growth is all going to the curve? Thanks for any advice!

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I would absolutely go back to ortho and start physical therapy. I have very mild scoliosis with 2 small curves. Whenever it gets painful, I start PT for a few months and it helps a lot.

[Rosie_0801]

Chiropractors can reverse some scoliosis, given enough time (lots.) Is hers too bad for a chiro to make any difference? Even if they could prevent it worsening, it would be worth it?

 

Rosie

[Jenn in FL]

One of my daughters has almost the exact same medical history (minus the pneumo as an infant). Her curve was discovered by our pediatrician when it was about 20 degrees and we went for an ortho consult. Our ortho recommended a wait and see approach because they thought her growth plates were almost fused. One year later her curve measured 32 degrees! It is obviously a difficult call to make for the ortho folks...bracing is so challenging/uncomfortable for the kids and if it is not definitively deemed medically necessary, they tend to practice conservatively I think. As a side note, my daughter is also tall and thin with long willowly limbs. She is now almost 5'8" and weighs 128. Ballet wasn't easy for her either!:tongue_smilie:

 

Fast forward, in hindsight I should have asked for a PT referral right then when the 32 degree curve was measured. Ortho did give us some hand-outs pertaining to exercise, but that was it. In the mean time my daughter's back hurt constantly...same drill going on here with pillows placed in the backs of chairs etc. So we finally (after way too much inaction on my part) called our ortho and asked for a PT referral. It literally changed my daughters life.

 

PT worked with her for an hour twice a week in their office for about six weeks and also gave her a series of stretching exercises to do at home by herself every morning and every evening before bed. The majority of my daughter's issue (and part of the hump) was caused by the unequal musculature development of one side of her body as a result of the curve. The results after PT have been simply amazing! She stands straighter, she is practically pain free, and her self confidence has skyrocketed. As a result, I am a huge fan of PT!

 

Good luck...

 

Jen

[Lolly]

Howdy! My dd17b has scoliosis. Hers is S shaped. She was right on the boarder of needing bracing. It is noticable. She has tibial tortion and in-toeing. It kept her from being able to walk until she was getting close to 2! She has seen orthopedists (do nothing) and a chiropractor (adjustments, but they don't really do much for her). Orthopedist do not brace very often these days. The chiropractor recommended a massage therapist. THAT has been absolutely the best thing for dd. She has a professional massage every single week. It keeps her from hurting too much. I have also taken her for physical therapy. They showed her some exercises, but she is a swimmer. It turns out swimming mimics the physical therapy exercises, so the therapist told us that what would be best would be for her to just continue with that/no need to keep goign in for therapy.

 

School-wise, it has been a challenge. Sitting up is a problem. She just cannot do it for long periods of time. So, she doesn't. I let her be in any position she needs to be-that rarely involves a desk type chair. Breaks between subjects for stretching, resting, and moving are a must. One of her favorite stretches is a seal position. (On stomach, push arms straight, legs stay on floor.) She does her own her own work in her bed where she can get into more comfy positions. Riding in the car, I allow her to have her seat reclined a lot. She also has a pillow that she uses to curl up with. She technically has a seatbelt on, but it probably wouldn't do much good in a crash. It is something I have just had to get over.

 

The good news is that she is in less pain now than when she was growing. I think the growing pulling on the muscles that are already pulled on by the curvature made it a lot worse. So, there is some relief coming for your dd just around the corner simply due to age. At this point, dd says that it still hurts all the time, but she has learned to ignore it to a great degree. Her massage therapist is one of her all time favorite people though. She is always happy to see him! If she ever gets to hurting bad, we give him a call for an extra session. He is absolutely wonderful. (He's practically a member of the family at this point. She's been seeing him for 8 years!) He charges us a monthly fee that's much lower than his usual hourly rate. At this point, he comes to our house and brings his kids. Her session is almost a party atmosphere. His little dd even brought cookies she had made last week.:lol::lol:

Edited September 23, 2011 by Lolly

[Plink]

Progressing quickly at that age is common. It is so very sad that your Dr. didn't allow you to see the ortho when the curve was manageable.

 

At this point, I would definataly go back, but not to your doctor (who doesn't really seem to understand the problem) and not to your ortho (who admits that she is still growing, but says nothing can be done). I would look around for a new ortho. Bring all of your x-rays and start at the beginning.

 

I went through years of scoliosis treatment resulting in surgery. It is a lot of work and comes at a very sensitive time in a girl's life, but it is important to deal with it all now. Especially if she is still growing, even a little bit.

[Harriet Vane]

I have scoliosis. it is mild but has resulted in bone spurs on my spine and daily neck pain over the years.

 

One thing I have learned about scoliosis is that wait-and-see can be absolutely disastrous with this condition. I am saddened to know of your dr's response when your dd was first diagnosed.

 

This is a problem to address aggressively. I would not try just one thing if I were you. If you really invest in a response NOW, while she is growing, you will see results. Inaction will yield terrible results.

 

Yes, go back to the orthopedic doctor.

 

Get a referral for physical therapy. This is the single most important piece, in my opinion. Aggressive exercise is the one thing that will slow down scoliosis and reduce/prevent pain. Your dd will need to embrace aggressive exercise as a lifestyle, particularly upper body strengthening.

 

See a chiropractor. I was a skeptic when I first went to one, but was in a lot of pain and desperate to try anything. The chiropractor made a MAJOR difference in my pain. Scoliosis cannot be healed, so routine chiropractic care will have to be a way of life. When I have a flare-up I go to several visits, along with physical therapy. For "normal" times I go once every 4-6 weeks. For the state your dd is in currently, you will expect to go to a LOT of chiro visits for the first month or more, and then those visits will taper off.

 

Massage can also help with the painful muscle tension that comes with this condition, particularly if judiciously scheduled to help relax the body to receive a chiro adjustment or to exercise.

[Supertechmom]

My son has very mild curve. He had daily headaches for a year when we finally got to the ortho. Their only solution was a brace. Then brace so more and cross our fingers that he won't require surgery in his 30's. I was furious. I asked about exercise, things to help with posture ( the brace wouldn't do that just keep him were he was) and was told nothing we could do. Headaches??? Take some pills. Walked out the office and called the chiro. Ours is more of a rehab type. They do massage, some kind of machine therapy, pt , and adjustments. His headaches stopped the first visit. We now go every month. When he's doing a lot of sitting, we have exercises to do to work out the bad posture and strengthen those back muscles. The chiro swears he can't cure it but it hasn't gotten worse and some days seems to be gone. But the ortho's plan seemed more like medieval torture with absolutely no hope it would be better. The chiro gave us a plan, things to actively do like how to sit properly, strengthen muscles, proper pillows etc. At least, it sounded better than stick on a brace and maybe it will work and maybe it won't. I would find a good chiro. They make a difference.

[Harriet Vane]

One further thought--a friend's child also had marvelous results including hanging in his regimen. He grasped a pole and hung there for a short time each day. I don't know if there were stretches or exercises associated with the hanging. However, my friend's chiro was a big proponent of the benefits of hanging. You should inquire about this and research further.

[LNC]

Ok, thanks everyone!! I'll just call to ask for the pt referral now.

Edited September 23, 2011 by LNC

[Angjune]

My daughter also has scoliosis. She started puberty a bit late so didn't get her growth spurt (she's still small) until maybe 13. Her pediatrician noticed it right away and sent her to an ortho. At that time her curve was around 22 degrees. Since he is a strong believer in physical therapy, he ordered it right away. I found a good therapist and she went in twice a week for 2 months. I believe that it did help her back pain and the physical therapist thought that her curve was improving. However, after returning to the ortho 4 months later we learned it had progressed to the point where she would need bracing.

 

Now my daughter thinks the pt was a complete waste of time since the curve progressed. She has her brace but it is no walk in the park. Also, I just enrolled her in public school (high school). So far she is only wearing it 4-5 hrs a day when she's supposed to wear it 23! I understand the ramifications of not wearing the brace but its a delicate balance with my daughter who used to have school anxiety. I promised her she wouldn't have to wear it at school right now but I'm trying to work up to her wearing it all night. Also, with homework, etc. I'm having a hard time fitting in her exercises.

 

I still believe in physical therapy, or any exercise and have recently purchased a book on the Schroth Method. Good luck!