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  • Pain while sleeping

    Happy Monday everyone.
    My 12 year old daughter is due to see her orthopedist in September. Her last visit was in March and at that time she was at 34 degrees - upper thoracic curve. We have noticed a change in her back and although we obvioulsy cannot be sure without actually having the xray done, we do think her curve has progressed, possibly dramatically. Just recently, I'd say over the last several weeks, she has been complaining of pain in her back. Last night we were up with her until very late as she cried in bed because her back hurt. We are looking at possible surgery next summer, but does anybody know of anything that helps with back pain during the interim? I'm thinking that waiting until next summer for surgery is not the best option if she continues in pain like she is now...I have not called the orthopedist yet - was hoping to get her through until her next scheduled appointment.
    If you know of any way to alleviate the pain of this type of curve while sleeping, please throw your ideas my way!

    Thank you -
    from Tricia,
    Mom to Molly

  • #2
    Hi Tricia,

    Has Molly had an MRI done of her full spine? Scoliosis alone (even a high degree) shouldn't be painful, especially when sleeping or at rest. I'm suspicious of something else going on that would be causing the pain/discomfort. She's only 12yrs old and has some growth remaining in her spine. I would want to rule out anything that may be causing the pain before agreeing to such a huge surgery as this, just to hope it helps make the pain go away. There is no guarantee scoliosis surgery would fix the pain. You need to find the source of the pain. And, it very well could be that the muscles in her back are the source of the pain. If she's always tense and trying to re-balance her back to compensate for the curve, that can contribute to the pain. However, I would still do a full spine MRI to rule out any hidden problems with the spine and/or spinal cord. What you are describing isn't typical for kids her age and with a moderately severe scoliosis (even if the scoli has progressed a lot). Good luck.
    Carmell
    mom to Kara, idiopathic scoliosis, Blake 19, GERD and Braydon 14, VACTERL, GERD, DGE, VEPTR #137, thoracic insufficiency, rib anomalies, congenital scoliosis, missing coccyx, fatty filum/TC, anal stenosis, horseshoe kidney, dbl ureter in left kidney, ureterocele, kidney reflux, neurogenic bladder, bilateral hip dysplasia, right leg/foot dyplasia, tibial torsion, clubfoot with 8 toes, pes cavus, single umblilical artery, etc. http://carmellb-ivil.tripod.com/myfamily/

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    • #3
      Carmell,

      Thank you for your reply. We had a full spine MRI done for Molly when she was originally diagnosed because she has a left thoracic curve, which is very rare. They told us that they saw no abnormalities at that time. I do think that I am going to call her orthopedist and let him know what is going on. She does seem to be uncomfortable. I still am in disbelief and can't believe this is happening.

      What a wonderful website - thank you for your advice.

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      • #4
        Hi again, Tricia,

        You said she had an MRI when originally diagnosed. Was that MRI read by a pediatric neurosurgeon? or just a radiologist? If not a neurosurgeon, I would suggest that you contact a ped. neurosurgeon and see if they will review the actual scan, not the radiology report. That way you will know for certain that her spine is fine, just curved. I still think there has to be a reason for the pain/discomfort. I would hate to see her be in so much pain that she will want to have surgery just to fix that pain, then have MORE pain after surgery (because the cause of the pain wasn't addressed first). Let us know what the ortho says about the discomfort, if anything.

        Does a heatpad help? ice packs? Motrin/Tylenol? exercise? Is the pain in one specific part of her back? Neck? I wish I could wave a magic wand and make the pain go away.
        Carmell
        mom to Kara, idiopathic scoliosis, Blake 19, GERD and Braydon 14, VACTERL, GERD, DGE, VEPTR #137, thoracic insufficiency, rib anomalies, congenital scoliosis, missing coccyx, fatty filum/TC, anal stenosis, horseshoe kidney, dbl ureter in left kidney, ureterocele, kidney reflux, neurogenic bladder, bilateral hip dysplasia, right leg/foot dyplasia, tibial torsion, clubfoot with 8 toes, pes cavus, single umblilical artery, etc. http://carmellb-ivil.tripod.com/myfamily/

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        • #5
          Thank you Carmell.

          I am printing your reply and I am going to call our orthopedist and ask him about the xray reading. (MRI). A radiologist read the xray, then the orthopedist that my daughter is seeing read the xray (he is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon), not a neurosurgeon. Perhaps you could be right. I have been somewhat alarmed during the whole process because of the rareity(I'm not sure how to spell that) of her curve without having an underlying issue...although there is always that small percentage. Again, thank you for your advice. I'll keep you posted. We have tried pretty much everything; aspirin, advil, tylenol, the works - ice packs, heating pads, etc. They do seem to maybe help a little. She has good and bad days. Thanks.

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          • #6
            I would definitely find out the source of the pain before having the surgery. My son's curves are much higher than your daughter's & he's had minimal pain. When there has been pain, we always knew why: 1) sore back muscles after he stopped wearing the brace. 2) after his school bus went over a bump too fast & he flew up into the air & fell down landing on his rear end. 3) after he'd been running up & down hills in a park, he had some pain. We treated the pain by getting him deep tissue massages (Hellerwork) that he really enjoyed. He also got some acupuncture, cranio sacral massage & gentle chiropractic treatments. All the treatments really helped my son's pain but could potentially make something worse for your daughter if you don't know the source of the pain.
            Laurie

            Mother of Alexander & Zachary:
            Alex is 16 years old and in the 11th grade. He has congenital scoliosis due to a hemivertebrae at T10. Wore a TLSO brace for 3 1/2 years. Pre-op curves were T45 & L65; curves post-op are approx. T31 & L34. Had a posterior spinal fusion from T8 to L3 on 7/12/07 at age 12. Doing great now in so many ways, but still working on improving posture.
            Zach is 13 years old and very energetic.

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