Other effects Scoliosis has on rest of body?

[whtdove3]

Hi all, I'm new to Scoliosis, so please forgive my ignorance. I'm wondering what other effects this has on the rest of the body. Can it disrupt things like hormones in women, gastrointestinal, muscle spasms, etc.?
I'd appreciate any feedback.

thanks much!

[rae816]

hey!
First off, don't apologize for asking!!! ) It's great that you're wanting to learn more. I don't know much about the science of it all, but I can tell you things I've noticed from personal experience. Scoliosis can cause back pain (sometimes alot) and neck pain, just from the stretching of the muscles that are being pulled or contracted by your spine. This pain can be muscle spasms in your back, or just a dull pain that's always present, or both. Generally, the pain can be helped by exercises, like stretches and strengthening (especially your core, like your abs and back muscles). By strengthening those, your muscles can help hold your spine straighter and it just makes your back feel better! The worse the curve gets, the more effects it would have on your body. Hormones aren't affected by it, though- it's all structural. If your spine is curved or rotated enough, however, it can start putting pressure on specific organs which may cause problems with breathing or gastrointestinal. This is only really an issue in the cases with curves greater than 60, though. I hope this helps!

Rachel

[Cina2005]

Hey whtdove

I have servere scoliosis and i've only been in this forum for the last month. I have back pain either when i do karate or i'm just having one of those weeks where my back gets really sore.

As my spine rotates its moves my rib cage around, in return squishing my lungs and heart, where it makes it that little bit harder for me to get a full breath of air.

Hope i havent scared you.
Jacinta

[Theresa]

whtdove3,

My neighbor also has a bad back and he was telling me that if your vertabra aren't lined up correctly that it can cause other problems. He was saying one of them was weight issues. My therapist also said that it was possible to have other issues because of the spine not be aligned properly. Have you done a search on google?

[whtdove3]

Thanks to everyone for replying to my post, I appreciate it.

I've been having back pains for a long time now, and gradually getting worse. A doctor I was referred to finally suggested an x-ray (rather then just telling me I probably strained it somehow) and said it showed "scotiotic curvature of the spine". The other day, they did an MRI and I'm currently waiting for the results of that. In the meantime, I have been doing some research and actually found this article. It lists a few other things I've been experiencing, which kinda surprised me. (I hope it's ok to post this here, I not, I understand if it needs to be pulled).

http://www.prcstudiocity.com/scoliosis.html

I'm 48 now and I'm not sure how severe my problem may be, but am hoping for just physical therapy. I'll find out this week, probably. My dad's sister had spina bifida and died while in her late 20's. I've read sometimes there's a genetic link in spinal issues, has anyone found this to be true?

I've been to a couple chiropractors who were actually able to help my back feel better, but I stopped going when finances got a little tight (insurance only paid a portion of the cost). Neither of them mentioned a curved spine. I started working out with weight training to strengthen muscles, etc. last year, but stopped when I needed a hysterectomy. I'm still in recovery for that, but healing very well. Hoping I didn't make my back worse with the weight training, I didn't know there may be a problem.

I'll find out more soon and will go from there. Thanks again for the responses!!!

[ermintham]

Originally Posted by rae816

hey!
First off, don't apologize for asking!!! ) It's great that you're wanting to learn more. I don't know much about the science of it all, but I can tell you things I've noticed from personal experience. Scoliosis can cause back pain (sometimes alot) and neck pain, just from the stretching of the muscles that are being pulled or contracted by your spine. This pain can be muscle spasms in your back, or just a dull pain that's always present, or both. Generally, the pain can be helped by exercises, like stretches and strengthening (especially your core, like your abs and back muscles). By strengthening those, your muscles can help hold your spine straighter and it just makes your back feel better! The worse the curve gets, the more effects it would have on your body. Hormones aren't affected by it, though- it's all structural. If your spine is curved or rotated enough, however, it can start putting pressure on specific organs which may cause problems with breathing or gastrointestinal. This is only really an issue in the cases with curves greater than 60, though. I hope this helps!

Rachel

ims tarting to feel a lil uncomfortable at the tummy and chest areas...but my curve isnt that bad...

my curve is bad due to the great muscle imbalance on one side of my body....but if i were to force body to be straight..the curve is actually nt so bad..

its v hard to strengthen the weaker side....

my left side has like a dent (which means one area has totally no muscle)....and the right side has muscles.
same goes for my legs...my difference in strength of the muscles on my body is in such a way my body is twisted when walking.....i really dunno wat else to do alr.