moderate scoliosis and back pain. any ideas?

[cello_mom]

Neurologist tomorroq

We will see the neurologist tomorrow, though I can almost hear her answer now (there is nothing visibly wrong with her).

If that is the case, we have an appt already the first week of January with the orthopedist again.

Where do I go now? If her spine curve is not worse, do I ask for more physical therapy? What about a chiropractor (although to be honest my family thinks of them as quacks...long story)? They will probably mention pain management again, so what exactly IS this? Does bracing support the spinal muscles? Will that help?

She is 12, do I assume this pain will last until she stops growing? For LIFE? There must be something that can be done for it?

[rohrer01]

Roher, I’m sorry to know what happens with your daughter.
I was reading about diseases having the same effects as others more common and really difficult to diagnose. For instance I remember about the ankylosing spondylitis (a bacteria seems to be the cause).. surely has nothing to do because it seems that only an infrequent variant of this disease may be present before adulthood.
Anyway I would try to discard all of them.. I’m not sure how many are.

I hope the best solution for your daughter’s problem, sure you will find it.

Flerc, it is cello_mom's daughter, but thanks anyway.

cello_mom, I would take one step at a time. See the neurologist and see what he says, THEN worry about the next step. I suggested a geneticist becaust they are familiar with some rare diseases, but a pain specialist is a good place to go if her pain is unbearable. As far as bracing goes, I would think she is the right age and curvature if she hasn't had her first menses, yet. I would talk to the doctor about it. Although, I've read that some braces are hard to wear. It may not improve her pain level, but that is still a good question.

[cello_mom]

The neurologist ruled out any neurological reasons and confirmed the diagnosis that her back and neck muscles are very tight. She referred us back to the ortho, and gave prescriptions for several months of PT, recommended massage, potentially a small dose of baclofen at night to relive tension, hot tubs, acupuncture...well even the Chiro (but NEVER crack your neck for risk of stroke). So there we are....

[jrnyc]

i would be more interested in what an orthopedist who
SPECIALIZES in scoli has to say...general orthopedists usually no little about scoli,
and it can be a waste of time to not go directly to a scoli specialist...
i do not like chiropractors...to me they are quacks, but that is my personal
opinion...

IF your daughter has a problem with muscle spasms in her back, i wanted to
tell you that i get botox injections in my upper spine for muscle spasms there....
my NYC pain management doctor gives them to me....not all pain doctors
have the shots...they are covered by my insurance, as they are not for
cosmetic reasons...

jess

[cello_mom]

Jess

The Pain Management doctor does Botox as well as a plethora of other treatments. We were able to get him to see us in a local office instead of downtown, which is much more manageable.

The Neuro scoffed at only 6 weeks of PT and suggested doing it twice a week for several months to build and strengthen core muscles, and to find one who can do massage as well. She also recommended something called BioFreeze for muscle pain, and potentially a lidocain patch for pain, but only in conjunction with good PT. She was very ready to tell us she is not an ortho.

Our Ortho is a scoliosis specialist. He is also the head of ortho at the Children's Hospital.

[Ballet Mom]

Hi cello mom,

What great news to find out there isn't anything neurologically wrong with your daughter. I'm sure that is a huge relief! I'm very happy for you and your daughter. :-)

Bracing can be very effective to stop a curve from progressing as long as the brace is worn faithfully as prescribed and a good correction is achieved in the brace. If your daughter is willing, and is able to adjust to wearing the brace without terrible emotional problems, and you are able to get a good correction of the curve even with her tight muscles, it would be great to hopefully stop the curve at only 25 degrees. Curves under thirty degrees at physical maturity are highly unlikely to progress during adulthood.

Good luck to you and your daughter.

[rohrer01]

I take baclofen for my muscle spasms. It is helpful, especially if she is having trouble sleeping at night. Bio-Freeze is something you get at a chiro's office. I've bought it a couple of times but find it no more helpful than good ol' BenGay or other topicals. I also found the lidoderm patch ineffective as it only numbs the skin. It works well for a friend of mine that has fibromyalgia, so it might be worth a try IF you don't have to fork out the $$, as it is very expensive to just "try". A good exercise and massage program are always going to make anyone feel better. I'd be wary of chiro's. I went and it caused my stable curve to progress. Just some thoughts on my own experiences. I'd definitely keep going back to the scoli doc to keep her monitored. Pain is pain. I had it for a long time before my scoli was diagnosed. Perhaps my curve was in the 20*'s at that time, I'll never know. I'm glad her neuro's checked out all fine. It sounds more and more like you are dealing with straight muscle issues having to do with growing and scoli, but I'm not a doc so don't take what is said here as what is definitely going on. I hope you find some resolution soon. Let us know what they say about bracing and how that goes if you go that route. Best wishes.

[cello_mom]

Thanks all. We see the ortho again on Jan 5th. It will be interesting to see if her curves have progressed. I bet they have. She seems more "crooked" lately and has grown another inch since we saw him in August.

Has anyone used a TENS unit for pain?

[rohrer01]

Thanks all. We see the ortho again on Jan 5th. It will be interesting to see if her curves have progressed. I bet they have. She seems more "crooked" lately and has grown another inch since we saw him in August.

Has anyone used a TENS unit for pain?

Growing is a good thing. When my curve progressed before they found it, I shrank 3/4" instead of "growing". Although the risk is higher during growth spurts, it doesn't necessarily mean progression. Please keep us updated. My thoughts are with you. I know how scary this can be, my daughter has mild scoli. I can see her curves now and they do appear from the "outside" to be still mild. I believed a sports ortho that she wouldn't progress at age 12 and premenarche, so never followed up. Now she's an adult and I can't get her to go in to a specialist even though she has pain and insurance. She doesn't want the radiation exposure because she is afraid that is what has caused my many miscarriages. Please, have your daughter protected when they give her x-rays.

I have a TENS unit and have used a TENS unit and find it to be irritating. It's a gentle electrical current over the skin designed to disrupt the pain signals the way static on a TV would disrupt an analogue signal. I just found it to be annoying and a pain in the backside to wear. If her pain is moving all over the place and isn't bound to mainly one area, it would be hard to use, as the pain may shift while in use.

[jrnyc]

i used a tens unit years ago for pain...for me, personally, it was
of no help whatsoever...

there are some on forum who like braces for holding curves at bay, and others
who swear the effect of a brace, if any, disappears after the brace is no longer worn...
it can be an awful lot for a child or teen to deal with if a lot of hours are mandated....
i suggest looking into studies on bracing for scoli, on the internet, before you see
the orthopedist again....

best of luck
jess

[cello_mom]

i may take her to a chiro next week as she's off from school and my insurance pays 100%. Anyone have any recommendations for finding one who isn't part witch-doctor? Creams, pills and potions no thank you.

[jrnyc]

please be very careful with what you allow a chiropractor to do....

i am surprised you would take your daughter to a chiro before she sees the ortho again...

jess

[rohrer01]

I would NOT recommend taking your daughter to a chiro for this condition. As I sad earlier, I found a very caring and well meaning chiro and she made my condition worse. It is still progressing as a result because instability of the curve started a cascade of reactions in my spine. Hence, I have developed a second curve as a result. Please be careful. I don't know how to help you find a good one, as they ALL say they work on patients with scoli. They seem to love working on this disorder, with sometimes disastrous results. Just my opinion from my own personal experience.

[cello_mom]

We didn't go to the chiro. My sister told me some saga of her patient having been paralyzed by one (she's always been the dramatic one). We see the or tho on Thursday morning. I am also getting her back into PT. She has spent the holiday break not doing much and i tell her if she sits all slumped on the sofa she will stiffen up...and she does. She is stretching much more than before. Perhaps she has realized she needs to participate in this process with the exercises for more than a minute a day. But she is 12 and hard to convince.

[Pooka1]

Hi Cello_mom,

Although PT probably has a better chance of addressing the pain, bracing for pain has worked in some people. For example, Spinecor is marketed to adults for pain relief. In fact the ONLY thing that bracing has been shown to help with is pain though the intent is to stop progression.

Good luck.