There is very little in life that is more distressing than trying to live with chronic back pain. The good news is back pain can be relegated to nothing more than a temporary condition. It can usually be alleviated with medicine (painkillers), exercise programs, or a surgical procedure in the most serious cases. Of course, the solution one chooses to address a back pain issue depends on the cause and severity of the issue.
Most people would agree that degenerative scoliosis is a fairly serious condition. It can affect children as well as adults. As the condition progresses, the likelihood of pain becoming an issue increases. Once pain issues related to degenerative scoliosis start, it’s not something that is going to improve on its own.
Before discussing ways to combat pain related to degenerative scoliosis, we thought it would be prudent to define the condition.
According to experts in the medical field, degenerative scoliosis is defined as a sideways curve if the spine. It measures at least 10 degrees and comes about in adults as a result of spinal degeneration.
The causes of degenerative scoliosis in adults are largely unknown. What is known is the condition can cause nerve damage and moderate to severe pain. Since the curvature of the spine will be permanent and progressive without surgical intervention, afflicted individuals have to find ways to manage the pain. That’s something we are going to address in the next section.
Treating Degenerative Scoliosis
The only permanent solution for degenerative scoliosis is surgery. Since this type of surgical procedure would be considered major surgery, it’s something most people would want to avoid if possible. If someone decides to forgo surgery, they would likely be happy to learn the pain caused by this condition is treatable.
When encountering pain, most people react by seeking pain medications. Unfortunately, such medications are more suitable for short-term pain issues because of the addictive nature of painkillers. Since adult degenerative scoliosis is a permanent condition without surgery, pain medications aren’t a viable solution.
If surgery and medicine are taken off the table, that leaves nonmedical solutions like physical therapy and chiropractic care. It’s important to note that neither physical therapy nor chiropractic care is going to be able to cure or slow the progress of the scoliosis condition. These options are strictly intended to help improve a patient’s mobility and alleviate their pain issues.
A physical therapist can teach people how to properly exercise and stretch to help alleviate pain. For the most part, this option is most effective when dealing with soft tissue and flexibility issues. The problem with physical therapy is its effectiveness in alleviating pain is limited.
To answer the titled question, yes, chiropractic care is a viable option for treating pain issues related to degenerative scoliosis. However, it’s incumbent on the chiropractors to proceed with caution because dealing with spine issues can be a little risky.
The first thing a chiropractor will want to do is get an x-ray of the patient’s spine. The x-ray will tell them the extent of the scoliosis condition. It also offers them an opportunity to identify where the source of the pain might be located. That’s a very important piece of information should the chiropractor decide to proceed with spine adjustments.
The chiropractor’s primary goal is to alleviate the patient’s pain by manually manipulating the patient’s skeletal structure. This can be done with spinal adjustments or exercise programs. At their disposal is several special techniques. Here are a few of the techniques a chiropractor might use to treat pain issues related to degenerative scoliosis:
- SEAS (Scientific Exercise Approach to Scoliosis) and/or Schroth (exercise programs that target the spine)
- Chiropractic BioPhysics (combination of exercises and traction)
- Scolicare (a true three-dimensional bracing system)
When applied properly, all three of these techniques should result in a substantial reduction of pain over an extended period. If the patient maintains a regular treatment schedule, there is a possibility the scoliosis condition will improve enough that pain becomes an infrequent problem.
If you are dealing with pain issues related to a diagnosed adult degenerative scoliosis condition, we can help you. Through our chiropractic care services, we can offer you a chance to put your pain issues behind while also improving your mobility. If you are interested in hearing more about our services, you can call one of our representatives at 205-637-1363.
