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  • Newbie question...nature of the pain caused by scoliosis

    So I know very little about scoliosis since my docs just determined the pain I'm experiencing is from a curvature in my lower thoracic and upper lumbar spine ( 40 degrees.)

    I've had MS for years. I'm used to MS, I know the pain patterns, I know what the different types of pain are and what triggers certain pain, I understand demyelination and CNS pain patterns.

    This scoliosis pain has puzzled me because of the nature of the pain. I'm fine sitting, I'm fine lying down, but if I decide to get up and move around, I'm good for only about 10 minutes before the pain is really gripping, almost immobilizing, causing me to retreat to the bed, the chair, etc. where is seems to quickly resolve, especially if I slap a heat pack on it. Why is that? Seems to me if there's a curve in my spine, there's a curve in my spine...it's there when I'm sitting, or lying down, yet it only causes me pain if I'm vertical (I know I'm making a huge assumption that this is other folks pattern of pain, as well, so forgive me if I've got that all wrong.)

    So what gives...what is the reason for what I would call "mechanical" pain...pain that appears when you're doing something in particular.

    Thanks in advance for any info.

  • #2
    Curvature of the spine doesn't actually cause pain. If it did, everyone with scoliosis would have pain, and that's not the case. The pain that most people with scoliosis have is typically from degenerated discs, arthritis (causing stenosis), or muscle spasms.
    Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
    Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

    Comment


    • #3
      Welcome, Slipsliding!

      I'm going to start off by asking how old you are and how long you've been having this different pain, please? I'm a 47y/o female.

      I am one with scoliosis pain. I will partially agree with Linda and partially disagree with her, as she is a patient, too. She also works at a place with a boat load of spine specialists and has about as much knowledge of scoliosis as a person can have. However, there are people who have pain with their scoliosis and people who do not. I've looked it up on this website. They say that pain isn't necessarily related to curve magnitude. For example, there can be someone with an 80o curve that has no pain and someone with a 30o curve that has excruciating pain.

      I have had pain since I was at least 8 years old or younger. When I look back at that pain I had then, I can honestly say it was muscular in nature because I could roll up in a ball on my right side every morning before getting out of bed and feel better. But, by the time I was 12 I had new pain where it felt like my bones in my upper back and neck hurt and I could feel my spine out of alignment (parents didn't believe me). I wasn't diagnosed with scoliosis until I was age 16 and had a major pain event which was muscle related because it hurt to breathe and I couldn't move my head. So I'm describing two types of pain here. The pain I had when I was 12 was analogous to a healing fracture in every vertebra of my neck and upper spine. I never realized this until I recently fell and broke a rib. For the first day it stung. But after that it ached. It still aches and can still hurt badly if I lean on it or if there is a weather change. This is what my vertebrae feel like. So I would say that is bone pain. I didn't have arthritis when I was 12. They told me at 16 that the pain I was having was "arthritic in nature". They didn't say I had arthritis. I was diagnosed with very mild arthritis in my neck at age 29. They say I still have mild arthritis in my neck, but blah! I have MRI's on my thread "I have some imaging CDs" that you are welcome to look at and see the progression of my arthritis in my neck. It's very noticeable. The point is, I was having the broken bone pain before the arthritis. Don't get me wrong, the arthritis adds nothing but more pain, making Linda's statement true for a lot of people, just not me when I was a child.

      I have a rare, undiagnosed neuromuscular disease "likely" in the Charcot Marie-Tooth family (some unexplainable mutations on that gene) that didn't get bad enough to diagnose until I was about 45 when I suddenly in ONE day had a very hard time walking along with upper body weakness. I will call it MD to make it easier since the Muscular Dystrophy Association has changed the "D" from meaning dystrophy to the "D" meaning disease. I have cervical dystonia as part of it. So I also suffer from nerve pain and muscle pain and can feel the different kinds of pain. They feel very different than bone pain. But, depending on your age and whether or not you suffer from childhood arthritis, you may have bone pain due to scoliosis or due to degeneration as Linda suggested.

      So for me, I used to feel better once I got up and around (muscle pain). These days I hurt worse when I get up and around, pain from degeneration. So I lounge where I can rest my neck and my lower back (DDD at L5/S1 and SI arthritis). So my doctor prescribed me a semi-hard neck brace that I can wear when my muscles are too weak from Botox therapy I get for my dystonia or when my bones just hurt and need the stress off of them.

      So, you know all about me and the different kinds of pain I have. With that said, I can relate to what limited information you have given. If your pain is new, thus driving you to seek medical care and receive x-rays, my guess is that it's probably degenerative in nature if you are SURE it's not muscular in nature. You have to remember that all of your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and yes, sometimes nerves all get pulled on in directions that they aren't meant to go. So my answer isn't as simple as saying spinal deformity in and of itself doesn't hurt. It's never in-and-of itself and for that reason I can't explain why everyone doesn't experience pain. Maybe it's the curve type or how loose or tight the muscles, tendons, and ligaments are. But as we both know, anything that's innervated can hurt if the nerves are messed with. It's just what kind of nerve and what signal it sends to the brain.

      Phew!


      So, again, welcome and sorry for the very long post!
      Rohrer01
      Be happy!
      We don't know what tomorrow brings,
      but we are alive today!

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by LindaRacine View Post
        Curvature of the spine doesn't actually cause pain. If it did, everyone with scoliosis would have pain, and that's not the case. The pain that most people with scoliosis have is typically from degenerated discs, arthritis (causing stenosis), or muscle spasms.
        This post puts us scoliosis sufferers back years of fighting with the non-informed community ( medical and non-medical). Scoliosis DOES cause pain. Just because some people do not have pain with their scoliosis does not prove the assertion. Yes degeneration will oftern exacerbate the pain but it is simply not true and not helpful to say that Scoliosis does not cause pain - rather better to say that 'Not all scoliosis curves cause pain'

        Ordinarily it would not matter - it would be just a matter of semantics and not logical BUT Scoliosis is so non uniformly supported in the medical and complementary care community- in that there is no defined treatment path that non-scoliosis specialist follow. Often there is a complete lack of care due to the fallacy that 'it doesn't cause pain'. It is So difficult to get GPs and orthopaedic docs to get up to speed with scoliosis that I just boil when I read a comment like this in isolation- it does so much damage to us sufferers.
        Last edited by burdle; 04-01-2016, 05:56 AM.

        Comment


        • #5
          Here is a thread referencing a comment from Dr. Hey and a study on pain in AIS.

          http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...ids&highlight=
          Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

          No island of sanity.

          Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
          Answer: Medicine


          "We are all African."

          Comment


          • #6
            I think the great thing about children is they don't focus on pain. They are so busy playing and moving they just think what next. So I don't know if we really can say there isn't pain it is just not important to them. I can say that I didn't feel any real pain until my 20's. But I ignored it and went on with family life. X-rays show the scoliosis. I had pain events but handled it. After an accident in my 50's I no longer handled it. I am sure there was many reasons for more pain. Including the accident.
            T10-pelvis fusion 12/08
            C5,6,7 fusion 9/10
            T2--T10 fusion 2/11
            C 4-5 fusion 11/14
            Right scapulectomy 6/15
            Right pectoralis major muscle transfer to scapula
            To replace the action of Serratus Anterior muscle 3/16
            Broken neck 9/28/2018
            Emergency surgery posterior fusion C4- T3
            Repeated 11/2018 because rods pulled apart added T2 fusion
            Removal of partial right thoracic hardware 1/2020
            Removal and replacement of C4-T10 hardware with C7 and T 1
            Osteotomy

            Comment


            • #7
              Thanks for all the replies.

              I can understand that there's a difference between the "haves" and "have nots" in regard to pain. For years doctors believed MS did not cause pain. Now they know differently, but there are some MS patients that do and some that don't have pain. The debate is if the pain is MS, or the result of the MS. I side with the "result of MS" group. After all, it's not the lesions in the brain or the spinal cord that hurt, but it's what those lesions affect, i.e. spasticity for instance, that causes the pain. I have a lesion in my brainstem that causes pain in my face and tongue, but my brainstem doesn't hurt, the "sclerosis" (scar) in the brainstem is not painful, but the result of that brainstem lesion is painful.

              Anyhow, to answer questions:

              I'm 63.

              This pain is new as of last October. That's when I started complaining about it. It had been there in a vague sense for a long time, but got my attention in October. I have a Baclofen pump for my spasticity so at first I thought it might be that, when we turned up the pump, no relief. Then one of my physiatrists thought maybe the pump was too high making my torso weak, and overusing muscles to compensate, so they turned the dosage down on the pump...no help.

              The pain feels muscular, my torso evidently thinks my right shoulder should touch my right hip while this is happening But the pain is on the left
              side, from my ribs to my hip (and they did say the scoliosis was from T10 to L3, and that's consistent with the pain which feels crampy/charlie horse type. At first I thought it was some sort of dystonia, but the neuro docs said no. They even did an EMG tosee if it was a peripheral nerve problem, thinking I might have impingement of a nerve...no issues with the EMG.

              And as I said, in my first post, months into this, after multiple sessions of PT hadn't touched it, they did x-rays. I have MRIs in May every year to
              check up on my MS, and they check brain, C and T spine, and everything seemed fine last MRI. My physiatrist told me that MRIs aren't always the
              best at picking up scoliosis, that's why she ordered a scoliosis panel of x-rays.

              I think the pain is muscular since it tends to ease rather quickly with a change of position and a heating pad.

              As I said, the two theories as to cause of the curvature:

              1. I've bent to the right for so long to maintain my balance, that the spine curved that way.

              2. Theory number two is a problem I already deal with with my neck muscles, minus the pain. My head turns partially to the right for the most part, and if I'm not careful and paying attention, my head will rest on my right shoulder....it's my head's "go to" position. But the reason this happens is there is much atrophy in the muscles on the left side of my neck and head/face (crooked smile, speech impediment, etc) and the strong muscles on the right side of my neck win in the battle for head position and pull it to the right, but there is no pain with this. That is the idea of what might be happening with my curvature. My right side torso muscles are strong, my left side torso muscles are weak from atrophy, so maybe the strong ones on the right are winning in the battle to hold my body upright, pulling me hard to the right, causes left sided pain in the muscles and my spine has gone along for the ride and is curving that way.

              These are the theories put forth by the physiatrist, and neuro. I've never consulted with an orthopedic doc because I can't have surgery due to the pump catheter in my spine.

              So that's my story. Do any of those theories make sense to you seasoned scoliosis folk? Like I said, I'm late to the "party" and know very little.
              Plus I've not had a lot of time to dig into the research on the internet. I did see the term "neuromuscular scoliosis" in one foray to find info,
              and it referenced scoliosis caused by neuro diseases, but I couldn't find much more than that. That's why I headed for a forum, I thought I'd take advantage of your combined knowledge and experiences.

              Comment


              • #8
                MS & scoliosis

                I sometime check this forum but never thought I would hear of someone with my double whammy. I also cope with ms & scoliosis, but my scoliosis definitely causes me more difficulties than my ms. I feel I am very fortunate that I have not been progressing & the ms is not as much an issue for me. I am now 62 yrs & have never encountered anyone with my physical limitations. I would welcome an acquaintance to share some encountered difficulties. Aside from pain causing many limitations in life, my most concerning problem has been lack of exercise, as that makes my condition so much worse. Being alone in this cuts down on my motivation, when I attempt group activities, I always leave feeling very frustrated with my
                conditions & this greatly harms my self esteem. Working out alone, flat on my back is sooo boring! I'm so tired of seeing pt's & drs discouraging attitudes in regards to what to advise me & being treated as beyond help. Of course, my attitude has deteriorated after so many years & now battling aging issues.
                Regarding pain, I have experienced increasing pain since my late twenties.
                I was diagnosed with ms over 25 yrs ago & suffered 2 primarily sensory exacerbations that left me somewhat disabled, but I was diagnosed with scoliosis almost 50 yrs ago & have a thoracic curve of about 63 & lumbar of about 40. I wore a Milwaukee brace after seeing a specialist at Columbia Hospital in NYC for two years at the difficult age of 15 which was the beginning of the lowering of my self esteem & isolation.
                Surgery is not an option as I also have bone density issues.
                Just thought I would reach out to see if there is anyone in my area to share ideas. There are so many ms counseling groups, but never any for scoliosis. I do try not to complain much, but this forum site seems like the most appropriate place for airing my frustrations.
                Thanks for reading

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by LindaRacine View Post
                  Curvature of the spine doesn't actually cause pain. If it did, everyone with scoliosis would have pain, and that's not the case. The pain that most people with scoliosis have is typically from degenerated discs, arthritis (causing stenosis), or muscle spasms.
                  Linda, what causes the muscle spasms? Is it from the curvature puling on the muscles?
                  Susan
                  Adult Onset Degen Scoliosis @65, 25* T & 36* L w/ 11.2 cm coronal balance; T kyphosis 90*; Sev disc degen T & L stenosis

                  2013: T3- S1 Fusion w/ ALIF L4-S1/XLIF L2-4, PSF T4-S1 2 surgeries
                  2014: Hernia @ ALIF repaired; Emergency screw removal SCI T4,5 sec to PJK
                  2015: Rev Broken Bil T & L rods and no fusion: 2 revision surgeries; hardware P. Acnes infection
                  2016: Ant/Lat Lumbar diskectomy w/ 4 cages + BMP + harvested bone
                  2018: Removal L4,5 screw
                  2021: Removal T1 screw & rod

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by jasero View Post
                    I sometime check this forum but never thought I would hear of someone with my double whammy. I also cope with ms & scoliosis, but my scoliosis definitely causes me more difficulties than my ms. I feel I am very fortunate that I have not been progressing & the ms is not as much an issue for me. I am now 62 yrs & have never encountered anyone with my physical limitations. I would welcome an acquaintance to share some encountered difficulties. Aside from pain causing many limitations in life, my most concerning problem has been lack of exercise, as that makes my condition so much worse. Being alone in this cuts down on my motivation, when I attempt group activities, I always leave feeling very frustrated with my
                    conditions & this greatly harms my self esteem. Working out alone, flat on my back is sooo boring! I'm so tired of seeing pt's & drs discouraging attitudes in regards to what to advise me & being treated as beyond help. Of course, my attitude has deteriorated after so many years & now battling aging issues.
                    Regarding pain, I have experienced increasing pain since my late twenties.
                    I was diagnosed with ms over 25 yrs ago & suffered 2 primarily sensory exacerbations that left me somewhat disabled, but I was diagnosed with scoliosis almost 50 yrs ago & have a thoracic curve of about 63 & lumbar of about 40. I wore a Milwaukee brace after seeing a specialist at Columbia Hospital in NYC for two years at the difficult age of 15 which was the beginning of the lowering of my self esteem & isolation.
                    Surgery is not an option as I also have bone density issues.
                    Just thought I would reach out to see if there is anyone in my area to share ideas. There are so many ms counseling groups, but never any for scoliosis. I do try not to complain much, but this forum site seems like the most appropriate place for airing my frustrations.
                    Thanks for reading
                    Hi Jasero,

                    Glad I can be your "double whammy" mate.

                    My MS showed up about 20 years ago. I used Interferon for years, but a few years ago I was moved to the Secondary Progressive type, so no more shots. As far as MS goes, mine has had a pretty normal course. Relapses and remittance for years, and now I'm just in a steady downward decline, but it's slow. My "new normal" is constantly changing. And I thought I had it figured out: what symptomatic med to use when, when to rest, how far to exert myself before fatigue set in, what mobility aid (cane or wheelchair) to use when. Then this new pain and scoliosis posture, and I'm once again adjusting my parameters .

                    Sounds like your scoliosis has given you a rough ride. I too deal with some of the same challenges with exercise. I go to a PT but I have a lot of restrictions, due to my pump, as far as angle I can bend or not bend, the amount I can twist, etc. I'm mostly reduced to stretches on the bed. I count as exercise the things I do around the house. I have to do them in spurts, but I'm still up and using muscles for things like, folding clothes, putting dishes in the dishwasher or unloading it, getting food and water for the pets, cooking dinner, etc.

                    I do work full time, but it's all web based from a laptop while I sit or recline.

                    The situation about social events has been a plague for me too. Mostly my social calendar is full of dr visits . If we're asked to a party, or get together, I usually attempt to go, and if I have to leave early, I leave early. I will admit there are times I send my regrets because it just might be a day that I don't have the wherewithall to shower and get dressed, much less go to a social event and pretend to be having a good time. But sometimes a burst of energy comes from somewhere (possibly the 3 cups of coffee I just drank) and my MS behaves and I really enjoy the outing. So I just keep trying.

                    As far as support groups, don't you think they're a mixed bag. I mostly do online forums, I find them much more concise and informational. If you're like me you get invitations to the free lunches from the pharmaceuticals. companies, they're a joke. I mostly cultivate MS friends online. I agree there aren't as many online scoliosis forums as there are MS forums. However, this forum seems very vibrant and friendly.

                    Let's keep in touch.
                    Last edited by slipsliding; 04-01-2016, 07:23 PM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by susancook View Post
                      Linda, what causes the muscle spasms? Is it from the curvature puling on the muscles?
                      Susan
                      I think there are probably a myriad of reasons that we have back pain. Muscle strain is definitely one of them.
                      Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
                      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
                      Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by burdle View Post
                        This post puts us scoliosis sufferers back years of fighting with the non-informed community ( medical and non-medical). Scoliosis DOES cause pain. Just because some people do not have pain with their scoliosis does not prove the assertion. Yes degeneration will oftern exacerbate the pain but it is simply not true and not helpful to say that Scoliosis does not cause pain - rather better to say that 'Not all scoliosis curves cause pain'

                        Ordinarily it would not matter - it would be just a matter of semantics and not logical BUT Scoliosis is so non uniformly supported in the medical and complementary care community- in that there is no defined treatment path that non-scoliosis specialist follow. Often there is a complete lack of care due to the fallacy that 'it doesn't cause pain'. It is So difficult to get GPs and orthopaedic docs to get up to speed with scoliosis that I just boil when I read a comment like this in isolation- it does so much damage to us sufferers.
                        EVERY time this topic comes up, it's the same debate. I AM NOT SAYING YOU DON'T HAVE PAIN. I am saying that curvature of the spine, in and of itself, does not cause pain. Pain comes from all sorts of different sources. It seems to me that people with scoliosis would have a higher probability of pain, because of the asymmetric loading of the discs. Research, however, has not shown that.

                        Hopefully, some of the scientists in the group can help me out here. Is it not true that if there are people with large scoliosis curves who do not have pain (and I can attest to this being true), that it can be said that scoliosis does not cause pain? Do people think that those who don't have pain are lying?

                        Somewhere between 80-85% of adults have back pain at least occasionally. The percentage is about the same in adults with scoliosis, regardless of curve magnitude. I actually think people with scoliosis are generally much more stoic about their pain than the general public. Radiographically, adults with scoliosis typically have at least 4 or 5 issues that would be valid reasons to justify surgery. We see patients without scoliosis every day, with a single level that's barely abnormal, who claim that they have 10 out of 10 pain.

                        Please, please, understand. I am not trying to undermine anyone's claims of pain. I'm certain you have pain. The pain that you have is caused by changes in your vertebrae and intervertebral discs, by muscle inflammation, and by asymmetric loading of your spine. (This is actually a bit of an over-simplication, as scientists are beginning to discover that there may be differences in our spines on a cellular level.) Nonetheless, the percentage of people with scoliosis who claim to have no pain, is about the same as people without scoliosis.

                        If you are super sensitive about hearing someone say that scoliosis doesn't cause pain, you might want to look at your family and friends and wonder why they choose not to believe that you have pain. If someone tells you that you must be faking your pain because "scoliosis doesn't cause pain", you need to understand that they don't have a clue about science and reason. You can't change the fact that you have scoliosis, but they're choosing to be uneducated.

                        --Linda
                        Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
                        ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
                        Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by slipsliding View Post
                          Thanks for all the replies.

                          I can understand that there's a difference between the "haves" and "have nots" in regard to pain. For years doctors believed MS did not cause pain. Now they know differently, but there are some MS patients that do and some that don't have pain. The debate is if the pain is MS, or the result of the MS. I side with the "result of MS" group. After all, it's not the lesions in the brain or the spinal cord that hurt, but it's what those lesions affect, i.e. spasticity for instance, that causes the pain. I have a lesion in my brainstem that causes pain in my face and tongue, but my brainstem doesn't hurt, the "sclerosis" (scar) in the brainstem is not painful, but the result of that brainstem lesion is painful.

                          Anyhow, to answer questions:

                          I'm 63.

                          This pain is new as of last October. That's when I started complaining about it. It had been there in a vague sense for a long time, but got my attention in October. I have a Baclofen pump for my spasticity so at first I thought it might be that, when we turned up the pump, no relief. Then one of my physiatrists thought maybe the pump was too high making my torso weak, and overusing muscles to compensate, so they turned the dosage down on the pump...no help.

                          The pain feels muscular, my torso evidently thinks my right shoulder should touch my right hip while this is happening But the pain is on the left
                          side, from my ribs to my hip (and they did say the scoliosis was from T10 to L3, and that's consistent with the pain which feels crampy/charlie horse type. At first I thought it was some sort of dystonia, but the neuro docs said no. They even did an EMG tosee if it was a peripheral nerve problem, thinking I might have impingement of a nerve...no issues with the EMG.

                          And as I said, in my first post, months into this, after multiple sessions of PT hadn't touched it, they did x-rays. I have MRIs in May every year to
                          check up on my MS, and they check brain, C and T spine, and everything seemed fine last MRI. My physiatrist told me that MRIs aren't always the
                          best at picking up scoliosis, that's why she ordered a scoliosis panel of x-rays.

                          I think the pain is muscular since it tends to ease rather quickly with a change of position and a heating pad.

                          As I said, the two theories as to cause of the curvature:

                          1. I've bent to the right for so long to maintain my balance, that the spine curved that way.

                          2. Theory number two is a problem I already deal with with my neck muscles, minus the pain. My head turns partially to the right for the most part, and if I'm not careful and paying attention, my head will rest on my right shoulder....it's my head's "go to" position. But the reason this happens is there is much atrophy in the muscles on the left side of my neck and head/face (crooked smile, speech impediment, etc) and the strong muscles on the right side of my neck win in the battle for head position and pull it to the right, but there is no pain with this. That is the idea of what might be happening with my curvature. My right side torso muscles are strong, my left side torso muscles are weak from atrophy, so maybe the strong ones on the right are winning in the battle to hold my body upright, pulling me hard to the right, causes left sided pain in the muscles and my spine has gone along for the ride and is curving that way.

                          These are the theories put forth by the physiatrist, and neuro. I've never consulted with an orthopedic doc because I can't have surgery due to the pump catheter in my spine.

                          So that's my story. Do any of those theories make sense to you seasoned scoliosis folk? Like I said, I'm late to the "party" and know very little.
                          Plus I've not had a lot of time to dig into the research on the internet. I did see the term "neuromuscular scoliosis" in one foray to find info,
                          and it referenced scoliosis caused by neuro diseases, but I couldn't find much more than that. That's why I headed for a forum, I thought I'd take advantage of your combined knowledge and experiences.
                          I've told you about all I can with my own experience. I don't know for sure which exterior muscle groups are being affected other than my limbs. I know I recently started having progression in a compensatory curve that has a right sided apex. So my shoulder girdle and neck have a left apex. It seems that the apices cause pain due to stretching of the muscles, tendons and nerves. That's my best guess. My right side has recently started hurting. But, like I explained in my very long post, there are several different types of pain associated with scoliosis...at least on me.

                          For those of you who think that Linda is saying that scoliosis in and of itself doesn't cause pain, she's right. Not EVERYONE with scoliosis has pain. But those people may not have other problems that are aggravated by their scoliosis. I think some of the bone pain I have is from the vertebrae being pulled on by the strong muscle spasms caused by my MD.

                          Remember that every case is unique. Not everyone has the same cause for their scoliosis. I thought mine was AIS until I was diagnosed with some unknown muscle disease and cervical dystonia. That explains a LOT. It's probably the cause of my scoliosis, which would explain the pain.

                          Slipsliding, at your age you probably have a combination of arthritic degeneration and progression. Weak muscles can certainly cause pain if they can't hold your ribs like they should. Overstretching any muscle hurts!

                          Rohrer
                          Be happy!
                          We don't know what tomorrow brings,
                          but we are alive today!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            How about saying "scoliosis can cause pain"? I think that's absolutely true.

                            --Linda
                            Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
                            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
                            Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              My neighbor has no scoliosis, a single level lumbar fusion was done and he is in major pain, takes a multitude of medications per day, had a pain pump which he didn’t like it so it was pulled out, and he has 2 screws. He is on disability.

                              He looks at my x-ray and cannot believe it.....and I am mostly pain free other than the occasional thoracic bear traps which I don’t consider pain....I just lay down and take a nap. I do go to work everyday.

                              One of our vendors has a 100 plus degree OMG “high” kyphosis, (set bowling ball behind his head and it wont roll off), is 39, and has no pain at all. His neck is at 90 and is so bad, you don’t need x-rays. He saw Dr Gupta at Davis 15 years ago, and since he has no pain, nothing was done. He takes no meds. His plumb is excellent which is incredible.

                              I just cant believe he has no pain....and I do ask him on a regular basis. He also doesn’t have “the look” of pain, so he isn’t lying.

                              I can imagine his x-rays will shake a few heads...

                              I have never met a scoli with large 70 plus curves to be pain free.....I’m sure they are out there, but never met one.

                              Ed
                              49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                              Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                              ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                              Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                              Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                              My x-rays
                              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

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