Moderate? Really??

[mamamax]

About the ups and downs, in the book I mentioned, I found a "friend" in the author, who lives with a pretty severe curve also and who changed careers from linguist to Pilates teacher to find out how to help us all. She talks about the psychology of dealing with scoliosis and one of the ways, which was her and which I can relate to, is trying harder and harder ("I will fight this!") She says to just "listen" to your back. It is so reassuring. I can't recommend the book highly enough-only $12 or so. Yes, this is something we need to accept - work with it, find out and do what we can to help, rest when we need to, and take care of ourselves.
Christina

Thank you once again for the referral to this book. It has just arrived. Taking a quick look through it convinces me it is going to be a very valuable addition to my library. Rainy first day of spring here - good day for this read. Many things addressed in this work that I've not seen anywhere else .. things important to me. Great find Christina!

[dailystrength]

Mamamax, I'm so glad you like the book! Thanks for letting me know. I have learned several lengthening exercises, and I try to do as the author does, 10 min in the morning and evening. The mornings are more difficult because I can be stiff.

About the balance ball chair, thank you. I've been using it for only a couple of weeks. It is a gamble to invest in as there is no way to know if it will work for you. An old roommate with back issues mentioned she used it, and after about a month I broke down and got it. Like you, I have an 8-way ergonomic chair that I spent a lot on, but after a year or so, I was beginning to feel like I was caving in to the one side. This ball chair enable me to pull up out of that concave side. My boss and a coworker both tried it when I was traveling for a couple of days (took a trip to see a friend in NYC - yay!), but neither liked it. My boss said basically that it took work (yes, but we appreciate proper work!) and the other said it was hot, but I plan to cover it with a hand towel on warmer afternoons. For me it enables me to sit UP and not feel like I am squishing to one side. It works with and "gives" with my imbalances. I noticed another reviewer on Amazon with scoliosis loved it - I did a review search. Oh, and there are 2 sites on Amazon- go for the one with the colored ball chairs (vs. black) - that's where I found the review.

Well, that's all for now. It's POURING down Spring rains here right now! Christina

[rohrer01]

I just wanted you to know that I am, was in a similar situation. I was diagnosed at 16 with a 39* upper thoracic curve. Lower thoracic was in the teens I think. I had SEVERE pain. I have been battling pain intermittently my whole life. My first backache was at 8 years old. I am 41 now and a grandma of an 18 month 26 pound bouncing baby boy. My curve have progressed to 46* upper thoracic and from the look of the x-ray a similar lower curve (he didn't give me a measurement). I have pretty much tried everything. As far as the non drug route, swimming helps the best for me. I will tell you though, that our bodies are uniquely shaped and "proper" swimming techniques for me are IMPOSSIBLE. I do the best I can. The breast stroke seems easiest along with the back stroke. This over the shoulder stuff and turning your head to the side to breath, forget it! I don't move that way. I am in VERY much pain now and on very powerful drugs to control it until I can see my doctor. I am hoping and PRAYING that he will do surgery, even though I will have to have two surgeries. My curve itself is in the "surgical grey area" meaning I'm not over 50*. But I can't stand the pain anymore. I want my life back to at least a tolerable pain level. I am walking over a mile a day to try to keep my back muscles strong. It seems to only serve to make me lose weight (not good), as I am about 121# and 5'7". I just encourage you to pray about your circumstances. Small and moderate curves can hurt like heck! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I was always told my pain wasn't from scoliosis, but they ran every test available on me and never could come up with another conclusion. My current doctors (neurosurgeon and scoliosis specialist and GP) are the ONLY ones who have ever validated where my pain is coming from. Believe me, there are those of us out there that are/were "moderate" that have been through the minimization game. You do what you feel is best. Find a doctor that believes you and that you believe in. I have found that exercise doesn't reduce the curves, but it does reduce the pain if you can stay active.
I find the hardest part of accepting my disease is when it limits me from doing what I want. I would love to learn to ski, but it will never happen for me (although there are those on here that DO ski, even with fusion - TitaniumEd for one). It makes me frusterated and all I want to be is NORMAL. But when you look at anyone in the population, as someone else said on here we all have our problems. Ours just happens to be scoliosis. Yes, it can be painful. Be determined not to let it define who you are. Deal with it the best you can, but you are NOT scoliosis. And WE will all beat this one way or another. I hope you take some comfort in these words.
((((HUGS))))

[jrnyc]

Hey Cristy
i am so sorry that you are suffering...pain is pain, & i dont think anyone, including doctors, have the right to tell you if something "should " hurt...becasue you have just told them it DOES hurt!! i went thru that with lyme disease..til i ended up in a wheelchair...and there were STILL clowns, including clown doctors, telling me "but it really shouldnt"!!

i dont know why you go to a physiatrist..cause as far as i know, they are not pain management doctors..now, i know you expect to have surgery...but until that day..why would it hurt to go see a pain doctor..they are the ones who can tell you if botox, epidurals, facet blocks, nerve ablations, or sacroiliac injections can lessen your pain..because despite the "structural" that we all have with scoli...nerves & muscles & joints are involved...
my curves are 40 thoracic & 61 lumbar as of 10/09...will be remeasured april 12th at surgeon's office....but i can tell you that when the botox freezes my thoracic muscles, my pain dissipates tremendously!! and sometimes the facet blocks and the sacroiliac shots really help the lumbar pain! acupuncture never helped me...nor did epidurals...but some other shots do help...so i take advantage of them!

good luck
jess

[dailystrength]

Dailystrength - I consider my office chair nothing more than the ultimate torture device (and yes, I've tried every so called ergonomic adjustment I can think of). I've often wondered if your chair was worth the investment. How long have you been using it? Very glad for you :-)

Hi Mamamax, I'm still going strong on the ball chair. Love it. I would bet you could return it (paying return costs) if you tried & didn't like it. Amazon = free ship to you. I got green; look for the page with the pretty color ones. I only could not use it Monday, being sore from a long bike ride on a poorly adjusted bike. But I was back on it Tues for the rest of the week. I hope you can find some relief soon in your chair situation.

[cbeem]

You guys are great. I'm going to have to check out that book too. I haven't been on here lately--work has been just INSANE. But, at least this semester I'm not constantly steadying myself from the pain. I'm still getting used to the gym. It's so hard to find the time, but if I don't go my insurance won't cover the gym cost, so that motivates me too!

Thanks again, friends. Here's hoping that the rains lighten up (it's raining here today as it seems it was when most of you were posting in the past month or so), and we all get to feel better in the warmth of the summer.

Cristy

[cbeem]

Meanwhile...I JUST looked at the balance ball chair. I actually went and got a yoga ball for home a few weeks ago. Damn, that thing is huge and a terrific temptation for my almost-four-year-old, but I pulled it over and sat on it one night at the dining room table while I was reading for work. I guess it takes a little more balance because there's no stabilizing apparatus, but it did really feel like it took the weight off. And, of course, there's no back support with a BALL. BUT, if you're thinking about investing in the chair--try the ball alone and see if you like it! (I think the ball was $9 at Target.)

I got the ball because I've been doing this great stretch over it on the side (like the ball under my ribs on the side and my arm stretched over like a ballerina--gosh, I stink at describing stuff like this), and it feels so good!

[dailystrength]

That's great, Cbeem! Just for an update, I get jokes about my chair from the guy who picks up the garbage - he said he thought it was a potty when he was helping me put it together - but a recent volunteer asked me about it and I told her it's revolutionized my work day. I keep a picture of my x-ray near my desk just to help me see how I might try to be better positioned, and I showed it to her and pointed out my uneven "sit" bones, and said that the ball allows me to sit evenly. I love it. I don't even notice it now except the lack of pain. And yes, it comes with a flyer with stretching instructions. I tried a bigger ball but it was too hard to reach my desk - the chair is about the same shape and height as a regular chair. Anyway, good for you!

[cbeem]

Thanks for the info. I may need to try one down the line a bit. Good for you keeping the pic there. It's just so tempting to fall into the curves rather than try to work against them. That's a really good idea.

[jrnyc]

i am soooo amazed that you guys can sit on a ball...even the really big ones...i just cant...i never even was able to use a bike in the gym that wasnt recumbunt (splg?)...my rheumatologist warned me what the bikes without backs would feel like...boy, was he right!! i dont know if it because my discs are so destroyed now...Dr Lonner told me (april 12th visit) they are getting so much worse...in the last year, they got worse while my curves pretty much stayed the same...42 thoracic and 61 lumbar....he wants to "clean out the discs and put spacers in" with the side incisions, then go in the back and put the rods and screws in...all "minimal invasive"....

i admire those who can use those huge exercise balls...to me, they are just so unstable and without support that my back feels worse...

enjoy the gym...i kinda miss it....especially the feeling of accomplishment one gets after the work out is over!!


jess

[dailystrength]

Thanks, Cbeem.

Jrnyc, I am sorry to hear about your disc problems. Was that evident on the x-ray? I get my annual x-ray on Thursday. I guess pain is an indicator. At any rate, it sounds like you are under good care with Dr. Lonner.

[jrnyc]

i know the discs showed up on the MRI...not sure about the Xray...but back when first i herniated them, my rheumatologist showed me the Xray he did, and the discs looked all fuzzy...he said that showed damage..

jess

[dailystrength]

Ohhhh. Is the damage from the scoliosis do you or does he think? I have "degeneration" aka arthritis. But no disc issues that I know of.... yet....

[LindaRacine]

Ohhhh. Is the damage from the scoliosis do you or does he think? I have "degeneration" aka arthritis. But no disc issues that I know of.... yet....

Just about every adult with scoliosis has some amount of disc degeneration. Here's an example of extreme degeneration (on the right):

Here's an xray image of a pretty healthy spine when viewed from the side (laterally):

http://jcem.endojournals.org/content...401800003.jpeg

And, here's an xray of a spine with a moderate amount of disc degeneration:

http://www.rad.washington.edu/static...DDLatLS001.jpg

In severe degeneration, you can hardly see any disc material at all. And, unfortunately, it's not uncommon to see that in people with scoliosis.

--Linda

[jrnyc]

Hi dailystrength
my scoli didnt ever both me very much UNTIL i herniated the discs...then all heck broke loose! it was really downhill from there...

Dr Lonner just told me, on April 12th, that my discs have gotten alot worse, while my curves havent changed too much in the past year...that is the reason for the increased pain, according to the doctors...that is why they want to go in and "clean out the discs and put spacers in"....

of course, i'm sure my spinal arthritis and spinal stenosis are not helping the pain....dont know how much worse those have become...dont know that the pain causes can be completely separated out...but i do know that all together, my back is A MESS!

am wondering if you need to have an MRI in addition to the Xray...?

jess