uneven shoulder blades

[suzmob]

My daughter is now nine months post op. She is doing great, except that we notice that one of her shoulder blades sticks out more than the other one. She says that it bothers her when she is sitting in a straight back chair, because she is not "even".
We have an appt in a couple of weeks with her surgeon, but I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem. Thanks.

[flowerpower]

My son is 1 yr. post-op and his right shoulderblade/ribcage is still somewhat prominent. While the correction of the curvature is excellent, the rotation is only corrected about 50%.

Renee

[Snoopy]

My daughter is 2 years post-op and her left shoulder blade still sticks out.

Mary Lou

[rachael]

I still have this on my right side after many years. I find sitting criss cross with my legs in my chair or on my knees or one leg helps or leaning on one side. The desks in high school were the worst. Sometimes now, I keep a small pillow with me or jacket for cushioning. Chairs or pillows that put the pressure on the lumbar area are the most comfortable. Most of all I avoid leaning back (which is good for strengthening the core muscles anyway) when sitting in hard straight back chairs. If I do lean back I slouch down so the pressure is on top of my shoulder blades than on the part that sticks out the most (almost scooched way down in the chair).

[Snoopy]

Rachael,

Do you notice that when you sit in chairs that have a curved back, like sitting in the auditorium in a high school, for example, that it bothers your back? Just curious as my daughter's fusion and yours are almost exactly the same and that is really Jamie's only complaint when it comes to chairs. Jamie is fused T3-L2.

Mary Lou

[diana durand]

surgery

[This should be cleared up after surgery or at least mine was. I had surgery when I was 16 and just turned 55. I have two Herrington rods the full length of my back. I also had a lump coming out my side just under my arm pit. I was bothered by straight chairs, clothing did not hang right on me so I know what your daughter is going through. If she has the surgery she should be good after that. QUOTE=suzmob]My daughter is now nine months post op. She is doing great, except that we notice that one of her shoulder blades sticks out more than the other one. She says that it bothers her when she is sitting in a straight back chair, because she is not "even".
We have an appt in a couple of weeks with her surgeon, but I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem. Thanks.[/QUOTE]

[rachael]

I know what she is going through!
In movies if I don't slump down, sometimes I try to prop my feet up (so not to be rude, I always try to sit where no one is in front of me) or any version of bending one leg or the other underneath myself to adjust weight to the side that does not stick out.
I do find curved chairs annoying because it is harder to manage doing this. One thing I have found that helps for a few minutes is to put one of my arms behind my lower back and lean back (a 90 degree angle at the elbow) also rolling my shoulders back and arching my back then leaning back. These can only be done for a few minutes, then they get uncomfortable. Sometimes I even roll up my jacket or stick my purse in the part that is curved in. The key is to do something that moves the pressure of the chair from the upper back to the lower back.
Also, she should get permission to move around as needed. Many times at meetings, or even at movies, I move to the back of the room and stand for a little while to take a break, and I'm sure she could arrange to get permission to do this at her school.
hope this helps!

[Snoopy]

Diana,

I'm glad your surgery corrected this problem for you. However, the kids we are talking about have already had surgery. My daughter had her surgery 2 years ago.

Rachael,

Thanks for the advice. The school is aware of her situation and I'm sure if she needed to she could get up and walk around without getting into trouble. She doesn't really complain about the chairs in movie theatres. The ones we go to seem to be more updated with soft backs and some of them even recline a little so it is much more comfortable for her.

Mary Lou

[suzmob]

Thank you for all of your replies everyone. I think that Carly and I were both surprised to find out that this was quite normal. We thought that after the surgery her back would be even as someone who never had scoliosis. We were not aware that there would still be abnormalities in her back after the procedure.

So this makes me wonder, are there any other lasting problems that any one has experienced post op?

[rachael]

other than the above described discomfort in some chairs and some minor pain and discomfort now and then around my screw and shoulder blade(sometimes from working hard physically or being ill) I have had no major issues. I do have to adapt sometimes with things I wouldn't have with a "normal spine" like yoga class and checking my blind spot when driving, etc.

[Clare]

hi
i am a year and a half post op and my left shoulder blade is more prominent than my right too but also my rib cage rotated considerabilly too you can see it when i go ffor a swim or wen i wear tight clothes but i got over it and get on with it!i am wat i am for a reason.thats one thing which i have aswell.
#
clare

[sparks42]

I had the surgery 2 years ago (I'm 19 now) and my right shoulder blade sticks out a bit. It feels like my right arm is kind of dislocated or something. I can move around so that my shoulder blade doesn't stick out....but then my arm sticks our funny. No one else in the world would ever notice anything like this unless we point it out...so it's no nig deal

[origamiqueen13]

Omigosh! I thought I was the only one who had this problem, but all of your descriptions sound so familiar!

I went to Dr. Rinsky in Palo Alto, California at Lucile Packard's Children's Hospital. I had the surgery 3 years ago, but my shoulder blade has been causing me pain, so I visited him again a few weeks ago. He said I would need surgery again and I am scheduled for this summer... again.

This is a devastating development, but at least I know what to expect this time. If you are experiencing these problems, I would definitely recommend seeing your orthopedist.

~Penny

[Sheena729]

Hey,

Im about one and a half years post-op now, and my shoulderblade still sticks out a little bit. My parents tell me that if i stand in a particular way then it is unnoticable, but to do that is uncomfortable.

Sheena x

[SandyAZ]

Suzmob

I was glad to read your post and the responses. My son is 7 months postop and his right shoulder blade still sticks out some although not nearly what it was before the surgery. His surgeon explained that was because they couldn't correct the rotation 100%. He had a double curve and the fusion was only to T2 so he still has the lower curve (about 20 degrees). His hip sticks out more on one side which really bothers me. It really upset my son at first after the surgery that he still had these issues but he seems to be getting used to it now. When he's dressed it's not very noticable but when I see him in his boxers it is pretty obvious and I have to admit the hip thing really does bother me. His surgeon says he is healing fine so I suppose I shouldn't worry about it but I do wonder what future problems he might have.

Sandy