Chiropractor Federal Way Wa | My Years Of Living With Scoliosis
I have scoliosis
I have scoliosis. It's minor and wasn't even diagnosed, despite years of back pain, until my very late teens. Maybe the thing that threw the doctors off was the pain, because my understanding is that scoliosis doesn't usually cause pain, especially when the curvature is as seemingly insignificant as mine.
Why Does It Hurt? -
When I was nineteen, the doctors finally determined that the pain was caused by the way the curve in my spine put pressure on the muscles on either side of it, but I think that it also has to do with the way the muscles put pressure on the curve; they press against it in an abnormal way, since normally a spine wouldn't curve in that exact spot, right between the shoulder blades. When it hurts, the pain seems to be concentrated in the bone itself.
This situation was exacerbated by years of carrying heavy backpacks loaded with schoolbooks. My back pain was so significant in high school, when I also played the flute, that I got permission from a couple of my teachers to leave books that weren't needed for homework in their rooms so I wouldn't have to lug them around with me. The scoliosis wasn't even official at that point, even though my high school nurse, like my elementary school nurse, referred me to a doctor after the compulsory screening.
What Helped the Pain? -
Oral pain relievers never helped much; the only things that seemed to provide significant relief were topical muscle and joint creams, and I still use those on bad days. In college, I went to physical therapy for a while and learned exercises and stretches to strengthen the muscles around the curve in my spine.
I added those to the exercises my physical therapist uncle had taught me in high school. The hope of my physical therapist was that not only would the muscles be strengthened but that eventually they might force the spine back into a more natural position. I was skeptical, but I still did the muscles and stretches religiously for years, and they did seem to provide some relief.
I had a friend who was great at back massages in college, and that certainly helped, because a lot of the pain came from the fact that the curve was right where I carried all of my tension.
The Ultimate Cure -
I was surprised when, post-college, I met an eighteen-year-old girl through my job who had very significant scoliosis. It didn't cause her pain at all, but you could see it when you looked at her. She underwent surgery, and post-surgery was two inches taller, proudly showing off her scar.
It just goes to show that no two people's conditions are the same; our bodies respond very differently depending on our own personal history-both genetic and environmental-and chemistry. My scoliosis was never bad enough to merit either surgery or a brace, but I suffered from it just the same. What has finally brought me relief is a combination of chiropractic care, physical therapy, exercise and nutrition.
I'm not saying that my back never hurts anymore, but I know how to handle it when it does, and that makes all the difference.
by: Chris Tomshack
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