At age 14 i was diagnosed with Scoliosis. It was an S-curve that was pretty significant. (33 degrees at the top and 44 degrees at the bottom) i had two growth plates left so my doctor said that surgery was my best bet if i wanted to continue walking for the rest of my life. So, had the surgery, recovered wonderfully.

I was able to play sports all though high school and college while coping with some pretty significant pain. However, school is over and now its the real world. My back hurts me all the time. it absolutely exhausts me to carry anything (including my nephew) that is over 20 pounds for more than 20 minutes. I bowl, i golf and i bike. i am an athletic person but anymore i am losing the motivation to do such activities because of the painful result. At times i cannot relax enough to lay flat, even when taking muscle relaxers. Taking really deep breaths hurt as well.


I know this all sounds like a complaint, its not, believe me. i am just reaching out to anyone that has had or knows someone that has had a surgery like mine and what they do to continue their lifestyle. I am only 26 so i am not interested in taking pain meds, i want to opt for the "organic" solution. Currently considering inversion therapy. Any thoughts out there?

Annie -

I personally haven't had spinal fusion surgery yet but I have several aunts and cousins who have had their spines fused for scoliosis. The cousins had surgery while in high school (early to mid 80s). I believe my aunt said she found yoga and Pilates to be the best at helping her cope with the pain and problems. One-on-one instruction or a small group may be better at least at first so the instructor is aware of your situation and can help modify the positions to help you the best. My aunt also sees a naturopathic physician who offers suggestions regarding supplements that might be beneficial to someone dealing with chronic pain.

I have back problems, too, but not severe enough yet for surgery. For me, I find acupuncture and massage to be the most helpful. All I can suggest given my own experience and watching my aunts/cousins is you need to keep active as possible but listen to your own body. If something doesn't work for you, try something else. Maybe cut back on the extent of the activities but still keep active. I work out every day but can't do the activities I could do years ago before my neck/shoulders were injured in a car accident.

Good luck!

Hi Anniemack,

We believe you; believe me.

Have you been referred to Pain Management (PM)? PM can offer many options beginning with those that are least invasive (e.g. physical therapy) progressing to those that are more invasive (procedures involving surgery).

Inversion therapy is an "alternative therapy". There are others, but few are currently accepted by the medical establishment (or covered by insurance). This doesn't mean they shouldn't be tried, but I'd still look into them carefully and talk them over with your doctor so you don't try something that may exacerbate your condition. Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy and Acupuncture are other alternative therapies that may be worth investigating (with the same caveat).

Doc

Welcome to Neuro Talk,
We are glad you found this site, as you can already tell you will get lots of information and compassion. In this instance I agree with Doc. Smith to get an evaluation with a pain specialist. He can get you into the right kind of non invasive therapy with out making your current condition worse. You don't want to engage in those activities that hurt. Listen to your body. I am so sorry you have this condition. I reversed the curve of my cervial spine and was fused C3-7 so I do know a little about what a curvature of the spine feels like. I now am limited to what I can do, which is OK by me, as the pain isssue from neck is stable. Please do seek an opinion, with regard to your pain, and what kind of therapies may be suggested to you. In the meantime welcome again, and feel free to explore all the sites that are on the forum. You can join in any conversation you want to. Hope you meet some new friends too. ginnie

So sorry to hear you have problems so young. My scoliosis did not start until I was in my late 50's (Adult Degenerative). Have had three fusions. Best advise I can give you is try to find a good surgeon to reevaluate you. Possible there is more that needs to be done. Not something to look forward to but maybe the best alternative.

HI,
It could be arthritis from the surgery and a pain specialist (not a psychotherapist) could help you. I researched the very best doctor of spine surgery in our area before going to my present doc. He's good.

I would suggest you get another MRI from a competent Doc. He could tell you, maybe, what the problem is now.

I have had C -spine surgery and having some more in April, and L-back surgery twice (the first didn't graft).

They sent me to a pain center first and it was a therapist talking to a group of patients. Not for me. Then they sent me to my Anesthesiologist pain specialist and she can do WONDERS. I thought I would be in a wheel chair, but she does her job and part of my problem was arthritis as well as the fusions.

Praying that you get some good information for yourself. Take your time before going into surgery to be sure that your diagnosis is correct.

Malinda

Wow, thank you everyone for your insight. i appreciate it very much! Makes me feel like i am not alone in this process. i have an update on my condition and i wanted to see what everyone thought. i need advice here. The pain has just been getting worse and i am getting to the point that i am just miserable.

So, i finally gave in and went to the docs, my family doc. he referred me to a different ortho surgeon (that works in the same office as my first surgeon). I went to see him and they did a good exam on me, asking me to bend and tell them where the numbness is, pain points and locate sharp pain. After reviewing x-rays he wanted to send me for a CT mylegram to get a better look.

I had a CT- mylegram done about 2 weeks ago (giant needle in my back so not cool) I went today to have the text read by my doc. i have 2 broken vertebrate. L5 and S1. I am already fused from T14-L4 and he now wants to fuse the L5 and S1 to fix the breaks then fuse that to my pelvis. Also he wants to remove my current hardware.

I am a very active person. i golf, bowl, fish, bike... everything. i love to be on the go. Doc says that if i have this fusion i will not be able to bowl or golf anymore. Not because he is going to restrict me but because i physically wont be able to do it anymore because i am going to lose alot of motion. Anyone out there had this done? If so, how much was your motion decreased?

He also suggested cortisone injections to see if it will help manage the pain. Has anyone had any success with that? i have never had it done. But doc wants to take this route because he said that the surgery will be painful, way worse than my first.

Lastly, he said that lots of people live with this everyday. and that i should hold out as long as possible before i have this procedure done. But from my perspective, i am already in a ton of pain all the time. everyday all day is like a 7. if i do any type of lifting (like simple housework, laundry and dishes) i am unable to stand without my pain being like an 8 or 9. He said that it would improve my quality of life by like 30%. He said if that was enough for me then he would do it. i am just afraid of how restricted i will be. i want this to be a fix not create more problems....

any input yall have i would really appreciate!


Photo 12 is what my back currently looks like, you can see one side of the break on L5

Photo 13 is a sample of what i would like after this surgery, if i elect to have it.

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I am so sorry you have to endure this kind of thing. I am glad you got the test and all. I wonder why he didn't do an MRI? I did look at the pictures, and clearly see the bend, and where the break is. I also understand what he intends to do with fusing to your pelvis. Is he the only doctor you have seen with this new current problem? Have you seen a neurologist?
I do know that some mobility would be lost, simply because of the solid rod, going to the pelvis, twisting side to side etc, bending over, would be compromised. I am fused C3-7 and it did stop me from being able to drive at night. Twisting back over my shoulder is not so good. I do know that removing old hardware and putting all this new in will be hard on you. Please dicuss pain medications completely before you decide to do this proceedure. You have a right to be kept comfortable and not in intolerable pain. If you have a pain specialist, this would be the time to dicuss this. I was on pain meds before my second fusion. At the time of the surgery, they did not consider that I had been on medications for years, and I did not receive enough in my opinion after my surgery. There was no dicussion between my pain specialist, and the neruo surgeon who did my surgery. My son had to intervene to get them to discuss the issue. Those things need to be talked about before you go in OK? I am not sure you really have an option, as this verterbre really does look damaged. My neck did the same kind of bending as you are presenting. I did not have a break, but one folded over another etc.
Please let me know how you get along. I do care, and I really will keep you in my prayers. I wish there was something I could do for you. ginnie

Hi annie, I just did a little research on this. I am not a doctor by any means, but I wouldn't do this therapy after seeing the condition of 5. You have a definate vertrebre trying to go over the other one. I can also see why laying flat would be a painful thing. See a PM doc. until you decide on your course of action. I am so sorry you are young having to go through this. You don't have to worry about seeming to complain, you have every right to vent and question this. We are behind you on your decision and will support you through what ever you have to do. Be good to yourself. ginnie

Ginnie,

Thank you so much for your post and more importantly the prayers! i am a little overwhelmed with all of this new information. i didnt expect to have this much going on.

My doc said that he didnt want to do an MRI because of all the hardware i have in my back currently. he said that it would look fuzzy and could get a better pic with the mylegram. They injected dye into my back so they could see everything better. not a fun procedure, i had a killer headache for like 3 days after.

I am going to discuss pain meds with my family doc. I need to lose some weight. i want to see if i can drop 20 pounds and possibly feel better. but working out is SO painful. the pain during i can handle its the aftermath that kills me. i cant seem to relax after wards or lay flat, sitting hurts. So i was thinking that maybe my doc would prescribe a pain med so i can get thru this and get my body back to being strong and then make a decision from there.
i have alwasy been against narcotics because i thought if i started taking them i would never quit because its not like the pain is going to stop. If i take them over a summer and have a goal to stop (light at the end of the tunnel) then it will help motivate me through it.

I did find a website on line that can do fusions othoscopically (sp?) I sent them my information and CT results, so maybe they will bring some better news.

i am probably going to opt to have the surgery. i dont see another answer, it seems to me that if my bones are broken in my back, that isnt something to let go for too long. i am thinking that i will have surgery at the end of the summer. at least i can have 1 last summer of golf.