I am currently 23, was braced from age 12-16. I last saw a doctor at Children's Hospital (Pittsburgh - great people there) when I was 19. My lumbar curve at that last visit was 32 degrees.
Over the past year I had been having some muscle tension in my back that I thought might be related to my scoliosis, so I went to Student Health at my university and got a referral to Dr. Gasho in DC/Maryland. He did some xrays and found that my curve has increased to 35 degrees. He told me my muscle tension was a result of imbalanced muscles connected to my spine (which I had already guessed) but then went on to say that I was showing the beginnings of arthritis and disc degeneration, and that surgery by the time I reached my 50s was almost an inevitability. I had never heard this sort of prognosis from my doctors at Children's, in fact, they seemed to think that I was "out of the woods" and wouldn't need any further treatment.
I was pretty shocked by what Dr. Gasho told me and I'm wondering if this is actually a normal progression (about 1 degree worse per year?) and something I should not be concerned? I am unsure of what steps to take next, if I need to take any. Dr. Gasho told me there is nothing I can do besides quit carrying heavy books around (a difficult charge for a law student!) and do stretching exercises.
Do other people at my age with my degree of curve also show signs of disc degeneration and arthritis? Is that normal?
Oh, and I do NOT recommend Dr. Gasho to other scoli patients in the DC area. He was totally insensitive to the lingering trauma of wearing a brace as a teenager, made several jokes and so forth.
Any advice or personal experience would be appreciated. Thanks.
Erin
Over the past year I had been having some muscle tension in my back that I thought might be related to my scoliosis, so I went to Student Health at my university and got a referral to Dr. Gasho in DC/Maryland. He did some xrays and found that my curve has increased to 35 degrees. He told me my muscle tension was a result of imbalanced muscles connected to my spine (which I had already guessed) but then went on to say that I was showing the beginnings of arthritis and disc degeneration, and that surgery by the time I reached my 50s was almost an inevitability. I had never heard this sort of prognosis from my doctors at Children's, in fact, they seemed to think that I was "out of the woods" and wouldn't need any further treatment.
I was pretty shocked by what Dr. Gasho told me and I'm wondering if this is actually a normal progression (about 1 degree worse per year?) and something I should not be concerned? I am unsure of what steps to take next, if I need to take any. Dr. Gasho told me there is nothing I can do besides quit carrying heavy books around (a difficult charge for a law student!) and do stretching exercises.
Do other people at my age with my degree of curve also show signs of disc degeneration and arthritis? Is that normal?
Oh, and I do NOT recommend Dr. Gasho to other scoli patients in the DC area. He was totally insensitive to the lingering trauma of wearing a brace as a teenager, made several jokes and so forth.
Any advice or personal experience would be appreciated. Thanks.
Erin
Comment