Displaced thoracic vertebrae with lumbar scoliosis

Posted by sb4ca @sb4ca, Aug 9, 2023

I got shocked last spring when I saw myself in the mirror and recognized an obvious shift in my waistline curve. My ortho did x-rays and said it's scoliosis in the lumbar region and when it gets bad enough I'll need surgery. I had just had two cervical fusions. Now I'm getting really bad neck pain again and see the ortho for that next week. A couple days ago I was working on a painful scapular knot and discovered I have a very decent cluster of 2+ thoracic vertebra that have impressively shifted left. They are completely out of alignment as in it's very obvious. My question is 1) Could this be the cause of my neck pain? The pain is mainly on my right side - away from the displaced vertebrae that shifted left. 2). In the lumbar area, it is my left side that has a big curve while my right side is almost straight.
Does this mean I now have thoracic scoliosis with lumbar scoliosis? . And if so, what does that mean?

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Phil, Alumni Mentor | @upstatephil | Aug 10, 2023

My L-spine also curved to the right and down a bit due to degenerative arthritis. The curving happened so gradually I was unaware of the shift until after the corrective surgery. My suggestion is to keep digging until you're comfortable with the medical diagnosis. I would suggest a neurosurgeon consult? My process: (1) Get a diagnosis with the best imaging equipment out there. (2) Talk with doctors at the best medical facility you have access to. (3) Connect with a top neurosurgeon (my preference over orthos when working around something as nerve-centric as the spinal cord). (4) Develop a comprehensive plan with the docs. (5) Then just execute and trust the process. Best of luck!