Tag: Scoliosis
A few years back, I met an inspiring young patient named Manuel Rivas. He was a determined young man, but his advanced scoliosis was holding him back from fully participating in all of the activities he loved. He recently came back into my office and shared his incredible plans to join the Marines this year. I was so taken by his bravery and recovery that I wanted to share his story with you today. As a kid, Manny was incredibly active and loved playing baseball with his friends. However, around the age of 13, he began experiencing severe pain that …
Last month, The New York Times ran a very interesting article in the Science section, written by a woman living with scoliosis. In “Hope for an S-Shaped Back,” Rachel Rabkin Peachman shares her journey of living with scoliosis. Peachman was diagnosed as a child and her condition’s progression was slowed through bracing, which helped allow her to avoid surgery with a 45-degree curve as a young adult. Over time, however, her curve continued to progress, and at 38 years old she is now living with the pain of a 55-degree upper curve and 33-degree lower curve. In hopes of avoiding …
Scoliosis is a somewhat common condition that affects approximately 6 million Americans or 2-3% of the general population. Many people are familiar with back braces that sometimes accompany the treatment of scoliosis. However, from varying degrees of spinal curvature to different treatment options, there’s more to it than just back braces – and I’m sharing a brief guide to understanding what scoliosis is, who it affects, and how it is treated. What is scoliosis? Scoliosis, simply put, is an abnormal curvature of the spine. While a normal spine forms a straight line from the neck to the buttocks, spines with …
Contrary to popular knowledge, scoliosis does not exclusively affect adolescents. Many people experience scoliosis for the first time as older adults, and in a recent New York Times Well Blog post, long-time health journalist Jane Brody shared her own experience with this condition. Also known as degenerative scoliosis, this condition occurs most frequently in people over 65. In a study by orthopedists at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, 68 percent of healthy volunteers over age 60 had spinal deformities that met the definition of scoliosis. Degenerative scoliosis is caused by a gradual deterioration of the disks and facet …
In a recent study published by The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that despite some controversy, bracing adolescents with scoliosis can work to prevent the need for surgery. This study is especially noteworthy since physicians, including myself, have recommended bracing for decades – but to date, there has been controversy about effectiveness. Scoliosis is defined as a curvature in the normally straight spine. This condition occurs primarily in adolescents; approximately three percent of Americans at age 16 have scoliosis, usually girls. Scoliosis is diagnosed by physical exam and x-ray to measure the degree of the curve. For curves …
Patients frequently come into my practice with the notion that surgery is the best cure to their scoliosis pain. How do you know that’s the best course of action? Well, that’s my job. Surgical decision making for scoliosis is multi-factorial, and we assess many different parameters in coming to the right decision for each patient. The Scoliosis Research Society estimates that approximately 1 in 40, or 7 million people are affected by scoliosis in the United States alone, making it an extremely prevalent condition. Unfortunately it most often develops in children, particularly female adolescents between the ages of 10 and …
