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Scoliosis - Introduce yourself and meet others
Spine Health | Last Active: Nov 14, 2024 | Replies (443)Comment receiving replies
@loribmt Thank you for your quick response and link to prior conversation. I, too, was dismissed for surgery by orthopedic because of my age, 70. I appreciate the link to the trainer with whom your daughter works.
As regards my on-going Physical Therapy and pain relief, as long as I am diligent and continue PT 2-3 x/day, every day, the stretching and strengthening exercises help some with pain relief and mobility, especially mobility. I also take Norco, Robaxin and rely on bi-weekly chiropractic adjustments for relief from pain. Chiropractic has the added bonus of improving my overall well-being.
I am anxious to learn of others with my degree of severity or significant loss of height (I lost 7” in two years).
Replies to "@loribmt Thank you for your quick response and link to prior conversation. I, too, was dismissed..."
@reneeksmith My spine surgeon, Jeremy Fogelson, at Mayo is a spine deformity expert and does treat a lot of scoliosis cases. I don't know if 70 is too old for spine surgery. It may depend on a lot of other health issues and if a surgeon is afraid of complications in an older patient. My mom went through parathyroid surgery in her mid 80's, but at that point, it had already caused severe osteoporosis. She was dopey and didn't recover from anesthesia as well. We talked the hospital into keeping her overnight on oxygen and then she was OK. Spine surgery is major surgery with a much longer recovery and rehab.
I know one way deformity happens to older adults is because of compression fractures that can happen because of osteoporosis and the spine can heal with an incorrect angle causing a curvature. I'm just a few years behind you, and still think of myself as a youngster and doing everything I can to prevent another spine issue from happening. I had a cervical fusion 6 years ago. My surgeon told me to maintain core strength to avoid needing his services in the future. So far so good. I would not trust a chiropractor with my neck because I know how easy it was to rupture a bulging disc which I did just by stretching my neck when I was turning my head a little bit, and I heard it pop. Any aggressive force could easily do the same if a disc is weakened.
What helps me a lot is physical therapy and myofascial release to release tight tissue and muscle spasms. You can have a functional scoliosis caused by muscles that pull the spine out of shape. Maybe that is how is begins to develop, and fixing those muscular problems might return better posture. An expert like Dr. Fogelson might be able to say if PT could help or if the resolution would be surgical. The spine certainly can remodel itself and be stuck in a deformity that only surgery could address.
MFR is Myofascial Release Therapy. There is a discussion on MFR that you might find helpful.
Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
Have you heard of MFR before?
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Good morning, Renee. You and I close to the same age. It’s hard to believe we’re at the point in life where surgery isn’t advisable! When did that happen? I’m sure you feel just like I do that I’m still in my 20s…(in my head! 😅) Now we’re ‘women of age’ with our bodies reacting accordingly!
I’m hoping you find some good answers here among other members with scoliosis and what they’re doing to overcome the challenges. Don’t hesitate to pop into that link I gave you and tag members with their @name.
I’m happy to hear you’re having some relief with the PT and chiropractic care. Another avenue to explore might be deep tissue massage and myofacial release with a licensed massage therapist. Have you tried massage? If nothing else it just feeeeels amazing. 😊