Intestinal Symptoms

[CHRIS WBS]

I have been experiencing more and more intestinal problems this past year. I am becoming increasingly scrunched through the mid-section and feel that my abdominal organs are being compressed. Sometimes I feel pressure against my pelvic floor. I believe that my severe lumbar curve is contributing to this sensation. When I mentioned it to the doctor last week, he looked at me like I'm nuts. Am I nuts or is this something others with severe lumbar curvature have experienced?

Chris

[LindaRacine]

Hi Chris...

There is a relationship between pelvic floor problems and scoliosis according to my physical therapist. She's a bit of an expert in those two conditions, and she sees a lot of patients with both. Here's an article that might help:

http://www.ucihealth.uci.edu/Healthc...nwhgSarton.htm

Regards,
Linda

[structural75]

Chris,

Quite common with scoliosis... Find a Classical Osteopathic Doctor or another manual practitioner (not massage) who is trained in Visceral Osteopathic Manipulation. They can address both problems involving the organs and pelvic floor, which are always inextricably related. It will help quite a bit in more ways than one!

structural

[Singer]

Chris -- My midsection is bunching up also. I don't notice pelvic pressure per se but I do have bouts of indigestion that I never had before, and I can't eat nearly the amount of food at a meal that I used to. What helps me the most is a lot of fast walking and doing mild core-building exercises on a yoga stability ball. If I miss two or three days of exercise in a row I start to have a really weird, caving-in feeling around my ribs and waist.

[Cena75]

Hi! Since my first surgery, I've had intestinal problems. I had all sorts of digestive tests done before it was attributed to my scoliosis and disk degeneration and compression. It was labelled as "Irritable Bowel Syndrome". My most recent problem with it was bowel urgency and low-rectal muscle tone. I had bladder problems too. I've been told to do pelvic exercises and kegals. Post-op now, the rehab physio. has given me pelvic tightening exercises to do while I lay down. If you have any questions, please ask. I'm sorry to hear you are having such troubles.

[CHRIS WBS]

Thanks for your responses.

Linda, I'm going to take that article to show my doctor the next time I see him.

Chris

[lelc2002@yahoo]

ditto.......

Chriswbs----think you already know my story but to summarize: I had all of that....I was completely scrunched in the mid section & had everythg from swallowing problems, indigestion/heart burn & severe coughing on eating...I had several attacks where I could'nt stop coughing(more than I'd like to remember...seems my kids & husband thought I was gonna die...) One time, right before the operations, I felt like I could'nt catch my breath, where food was stuck....yikes! Right after surgery-once I was fairly conscious, I noticed I had no more acid reflux, coughing, swallowing problems.....thk god! Ly

[Karen Ocker]

Intestinal problems related to scoliosis

Before my revision surgery(2002) my curves were: 30 cervical, 80 thoracic, and 40 lumbar.

I had acid reflux which would wake me up choking at night and difficulty breathing after a full meal--very scary.

Now, 4 years post -op with a 50% reduction of those curves -I no longer have those issues. It stands to reason that triple curves would crunch the chest/abdomen more than single or double curves.

[berta@aloha.net]

It's great to hear there's hope after surger, Karen! I am also more scrunched, fatter in the mid section, and shorter too. Guess that says something! My curve is increasing with age, for sure. I've already had big intestional problems, even to the point of surgery after intense pain, they found a twist in my large intestine and had to remove a large section. I had to have an iliostomy for almost 3 months, (if any of you know what that is, ohhhhh noooo) then, thank goddness, I had reversal surgery. Now I'm waiting for my spinal fusion surgery, hopefully in 3 or 4 months. My lumbar has increased to 75 degrees and the pain is constant. Yes, this darn scoliosis consumes us, doesn't it?

[CHRIS WBS]

Hi Berta,

Were you ever told by a medical professional that your intestinal problems might have been caused by your scoliosis? Like you, I have a 75 degree lumbar curve which I think has progressed very rapidly in a relatively short time. It's only within the last three or four years that I have noticed a significant change in my body shape. And I am concerned that unless I get surgically fixed, I could very easily have a 100 deg. curve by the time I'm 65.

Chris

[berta@aloha.net]

Yes Chris, mine too has progressed significantly over the last 3 or so years, mostly since the big M. Two years ago, while standing next to my sister, I saw how much shorter I was than her, and we used to be the same height. That was before my nagging and constant pain started, so I didn't realize and thought my bunched up tummy and total change of shape was all to do with the age thing (57). Now I realize, some is because of that, but mostly my curvature increasing. And yes, we WILL continue to curve more, as gavity will not have it any other way. Once your curve is past a certain point, (some say 40 or more), it keeps going.
Only once did a doctor tell me that my intestinal problem "could" have something to do with my lumbar curve. But I know it does!
So I'm getting surgery, to avoid ending up totally crippled over with no quality of life. I see myself in pain a lot, unable to do the things I used to, not that I totally will be able to after surgery, but at least I can find new things I can do knowing I'm stablized. At least I have to try!!

[Singer]

I think it's really interesting how many of us noticed our bodies changing in dramatic ways but chalked it up to aging....like Berta, I did too. I was in total denial about my curvature. I would stare at my deformed hip and bunchy waistline in 3-way mirrors and figure my muscles were just somehow "settling" around the curve as I got older. It wasn't until my husband measured me and I realized how much I'd shrunk that I decided to get x-rays.

[Shari]

I think it's very common to convince ourselves that our problems are a result of aging. I did it!!! I didn't want to admit that my that my scoliosis was causing me problems at my age.

My doctors had always told me that after I had reached sketetal maturity, I would be okay, but that is obviously not the case, for some of us.

I think that it can be hard to wrap our minds around the fact that scoliosis can cause so many different problematic symptoms, but it can be the cause of quite a few of them.

I may have not gotten the greatest correction, compared to other's on this forum, but I know I have stopped the progression. And I take that as a positive!!!

Shari

[Singer]

Shari -- For me, the whole point of the surgery is stopping the progression. If I could be assured that my curve was stable for the rest of my life, I would not have the surgery. Whatever degree of correction I can safely get is secondary to me.

But as long as I AM going to have the surgery, I'm looking forward to maybe gaining an inch or two -- and a waistline !

[sweetness514]

In ten years(late teens to mid 20s) my curve didn't progress, it was about 60 degrees, but the pain started to really affect my life, so I guess curves don't always have to progress for pain to affect us as well.