Question
First for a bit of back ground info: I am a 21 year old Female with a fairly gentle life - played tennis and danced in show choir in high school but nothing much else besides that. Gymnastics and ballet when I was very little.

I've had a lot of back problems through my life but its mostly just been pain in my lower back during sports seasons (physical therapy was unsuccessful). In the last two to three years, however, my spine has been getting very stiff, and my neck especially has been getting painful. It feels like it always needs to crack, but won't.

About a year ago I went to a chiropractor for the first time, has some x-rays, and was told that my Cervical curve is at a -9 degrees. The doctor asked if I had been in a serious auto accident. I never have been but upon saying so he looked at me as if he thought i was lying.

Here's my question(s): What could have caused this extreme curve? How can it be fixed? Is there anything I can buy or use on my own to help fix it or at least relieve the pain? Where can I learn more about it? I have since moved from the area that my chiropractor was in and I'm not sure where to find a good one where I am.

Another question... I was having some odd back pain in the middle of my back and went to my normal doctor to get it checked out about 3 months ago. They did some X-rays and said that I have scoliosis! There's a curve in my lower back (belly button height) and mid back (bra strap height). What can possibly be done to stop it from getting worse? I was told it's a 5 degree curve and they don't operate until its a great deal higher.

Answer
Deborah,

First: stop getting xrays from the (uniformed) doctors!  The scoliosis and neck curve is what it is and it is likely genetic in nature and formed through your pre-adolescent years.   Unless you're looking for fractures or serious bone problems, x-rays are not going to help identify what is causing your pain.   The small amounts of curvature do not correlate with pain.   I have scoliosis and I don't have pain, and I have patients with perfectly straight spines that are in miserable pain.   While it is true that we see a lot of cervical curve reversal in people after whiplash injuries, we don't know much about it.  And, in folks that don't have a curve, we don't know if it's such a good idea to try to force the spine into a curve.   There is a chiropractic system that touts curve restoration, and it involves a head harness that tractions and extends the neck over a wedge or fulcrum.  While the research on the outcomes appears impressive, it is highly criticized by the clinical science community.  What we're not sure about is if restoring a neck curve is important, or essential to good health.  We assume it is.  Is it worth months and months of treatment and significant costs to improve a neck curve when it may not change your health, or your future neck pain history?   On that note, exercises will also not change your lost neck curve, but exercises to the neck and upper back and shoulder girdle muscles are probably good to do if you have a neck problem.     See if you can find a chiropractor that is trained in Graston Technique: www.grastontechnique.com    Also, if you can find a DC from this list, you surely will be in good hands:  www.westhartfordgroup.    Lastly, you can cross reference in this site: www.acbsp.com, since sports chiro's tend to be better trained in dealing with soft tissue treatment and exercise therapy.  

'Hope this was helpful.

Dr. G'

p.s.  I've written in previous postings about the neck curve thing, so if you search the site you'll come across more on the topic.  
p.s.2: No more x-rays!