Adult degenerative scoliosis
We see a lot of adults with scoliosis and Doctors think that’s an underserved population. About half of those adults are people who had scoliosis in adolescents and the curve wasn’t necessarily severe enough to require treatment at that time.
As they’ve grown older the curve has become larger and more significant then the other populationS of people who grew up and finished growth with a straight spine; but as they’ve gotten older the degenerative cascade has occurred asymmetrically.
Therefore, they’ve developed scoliosis as an adult which can be a painful debilitating condition for adults.
When you study populations of adults with scoliosis you will discover those people don’t function at a level the same as their peers. and what Doctors discovered in the last ten years.Is that doctors now understand what types of scoliosis are most symptomatic.
If you take people with certain types of scoliosis you can compare them to other groups and you find that those people function less well.
Is that Doctors can effectively treat adult scoliosis?
Back in the 1970s and early ’80s, doctors didn’t have the surgical techniques that allowed us to reconstruct the adult spine. But in the last ten years or so doctors have come So far in terms of ability to treat scholars effectively even in older adults.
Doctors treat people in their 70’s and early 80s with scoliosis with excellent results and great improvement in their quality of life. Back pain is also related to scoliosis and they are treated with conservative management as those who are too suffering from back pain.
Physical therapy
Those who suffer from scoliosis are often placed in physical therapy and are advised to lose weight along with taking anti-inflammatory pain medications. Occasionally, some may benefit from wearing a back brace.
If they’re having a flare-up and the doctor can’t control it, the doctor will send them for some injections and will manage the entirety of the situation non-surgically.
There’s nothing that’s going to stop that curve from continuing to get larger over time except for surgery. Bracing plays no role in the treatment of adult scoliosis.
So when the Doctor will see a progressive curve, he or she shares with the patient that surgical treatment is eventually going to be necessary.
Treatment of adult spine
The spinal deformity surgery is not the same routine as low back surgery. It’s a more complex procedure that requires some advanced techniques and you need to be treated by someone who is familiar with those techniques because potential complications from surgery are substantial.
These are large surgical undertakings and the complication rates can be very high and you want to be cared for by someone who has the experience to avoid those complications at the onset.
If complications do occur, their expertise will help you have a successful outcome.
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