The orthopedic surgeon I saw as a teenager didn’t think it was a big deal.
When I was young, the degree of my curve never came anywhere close to requiring surgery. It did hit the point where some doctors might have prescribed a back brace, but my doctor didn’t. He told me that scoliosis stopped progressing once a child stopped growing.
Unfortunately for me, he was wrong.
Since I’d been told the scoliosis wouldn’t get worse, I didn’t pay much attention to it. I started having lower back pain in my early 20s, and then neck pain in my 30s, but I had no idea the pain in my neck and shoulders was connected to my crooked spine!
Eventually, I started getting migraines, and the migraines got so bad that I went to a chiropractor, who took X-rays of my back.
The last time I saw the orthopedic surgeon for my scoliosis, my curve had measured 27 degrees. Twenty-five years later, when the chiropractor measured my curve, it had progressed to 41 degrees! 🥺
Apparently, scoliosis stops progressing once you stop growing in 90 percent of patients. I’m part of the 10 percent where it keeps right on getting worse.
One day, I might need to have spinal fusion surgery. For now, I’m hoping that physical therapy will help to minimize the pain.
So, for those of you who deal with chronic pain on a daily basis, I see you. I feel you. I’m right there with you. And please know that I pray for you every day!
❤️ Meghann
