Question
I'm 19 years old, i was born with a scoliosis, i had never been to a DR. for my problem and just recently after almost 20 years i went to a chiropractor (not normal for a 19 year old to barely be able to walk and get up and feel like they are 80 years old) i knew my back was getting worse my hips were seeming more uneven my left rib cage is pushing out pretty badly out of my back and extreme pain.. He took X-rays and found an EXTREME curvature of my spine, to where it is literally ALL the way in my left rib cage, my spine looks like half of a circle and not just curved like that but twisted at the same time, and at my age have arthritis forming in my neck and spine (i wish i had the X-rays to show, i have never seen anything so disturbing and couldn't believe i had something looking like that in my body.. He says he doesn't believe in surgery and told me he is going to help it without surgery that he cant correct it or cure it but help the pain and straighten it out little and try and move it as much a possible, my question is.. should i see a spine specialist? i feel like i am wasting my time/money with this doctor (i know he is a very good DR.) but i walk in and he adjusts me and i walk out 5 minutes top i'm in there, i don't feel like it is doing a thing for my back, I'm just not sure what to do, and i really always said if i needed surgery i would never do it but it seems like that would only be the way to help my back.. I don't know if you know anything about this condition but any bit of information or advice would help! Thank you for your time

Answer
Not to down play what your chiropractor is doing, but I do think you may benefit from seeing another specialist and/or chiropractor. While the adjustment will help normalize some of the movement and alignment in your spine, it's often times not enough to manage severe scoliosis. I would recommend you find someone who can place you on specific exercises and stretches that can help manage your symptoms and prevent further progression of your scoliosis.

The good news is your curvature will probably not progress at any fast rate at this point since you have probably already reached skeletal maturity. In any case I think you would benefit from adding some physical therapy into your regimen of care in addition to the chiropractic adjustments. In certain instances, if the curvature is severe enough, you may benefit from other procedures including wearing a brace and in really severe instances, surgical correction. Surgery should obviously be a last resort. A qualified spine surgeon can go over all the pros and cons of less conservative treatments.

You can contact me on my personal e-mail at [email protected] and I will give you the contact info for one of my female patients who can give you information on how she managed her scoliosis.