What exactly is scoliosis? Simply put, it is an unnatural curve in the spine that can press on nerves and cause great discomfort. Adult scoliosis can mean that you live in severe back pain every day of your life. Maybe you have lost hope that there is any way to improve your quality of life or that of a family member. However, are there still ways to treat scoliosis for adults? Do you really have to suffer this way for the rest of your life? The answer is that in most cases, you most certainly do not. There are various ways that adult scoliosis can be treated. It is not true that you can never have the hope of improvement. You should really understand your options so that you can make the best decisions for your life. Here is a quick list of some possible treatments:
- Painkillers. These can have adverse side effects, but sometimes they seem to be the only option to help you function throughout the day.
- Exercise/physical therapy. Many doctors say that you should exercise more rather than less if you have scoliosis. Weight loss can help scoliosis, so it comes down to doing the right exercises; ones that will help rather than hurt. For this, a doctor skilled in physical therapy can often help.
- Back braces. These can be awkward and uncomfortable, and they may make you self-conscious since you have to wear them almost all the time. They also are not really a treatment; they keep you scoliosis from getting worse without solving the underlying problem.
- Spinal injections. Steroids or different kinds of local anesthesia may help with the pain and numbness that sometimes result from scoliosis. However, this is at best a very temporary solution.
- Surgery. There are many different types of surgery for scoliosis, but this is often not the best option. It is difficult, invasive, risky and has long recovery periods. Often, it results in pain rather than eliminating it. This should be a last resort rather than the first option.
All of these are either temporary or can cause more problems than they solve. If you have scoliosis that is causing constant pain and some numbness and tingling, you may be desperate to find a lasting solution at a lower cost and risk than surgery.
Is There Another Solution?
Chiropractic help can make a big difference in the symptoms you are experiencing with your adult scoliosis. It costs much less than surgery and can improve or remove some of the causes of your discomfort. It has none of the major risks or side effects of pain medication, steroid injections, or surgery. When you first begin to consider chiropractic treatment for scoliosis, you may be wondering how it could possibly help. After all, scoliosis can involve pretty severe structural abnormalities. However, most cases of scoliosis are not caused by a spine that is abnormally formed from birth. Most cases are caused by structural changes that occur later in life, and often the cause is completely unknown. Rather than being the result of an actual disease, it is often the result of the brain choosing the wrong position for the spine.
Simply put, chiropractic care helps to reprogram how your brain controls your muscles in order to fix your posture, which is one of the biggest factors in the amount of pain you experience. Over time, this can help to correct spinal position, taking pressure off of nerves and loosening up your tight, painful muscles. This is a way to relieve your symptoms and give you new hope without surgery. The reality is that most cases of adult scoliosis are not severe enough to warrant any of the more involved or risky treatments. Sometimes, it causes nothing more than minor discomfort or is hardly noticeable. However, it almost always gets worse with age. No matter what the cause, studies have shown that it will get worse over time without the proper care.
Whether or not your scoliosis is particularly severe, it might be a good idea to look into treatment now to prevent greater problems later on. This means that you can expect a greater quality of life overall. You don’t have to live without any hope of real improvement. We can help! Call us today at 205-637-1363 to get your free consultation.
