What are some treatments or cures for scoliosis?
A picture of a brace.
There are many ways to treat scoliosis. One of which, in young people, physicians recommend a back brace and special exercises. In the early 1980's, doctors tried using electrical stimulation to make deep back muscles contract, which pulls the spine into line. Some scoliosis requires surgery to straighten and join the vertebrae and then a steel rod is permanently attached to the spine. Sometimes even a body brace is needed, but most of the time scoliosis is recognized early, eliminating surgery.
First, doctors will also get X-rays of your spine, to make sure of the severity of the curve. Sometimes the curve doesn't even need treatment. An orthopedist will take your scoliosis from there, by first measuring the severity of your scoliosis through the angles. The orthopedist will make sure that your curve doesn't get worse by having checkups often, but sometimes you will need surgery or a brace to assist you through scoliosis.
A brace helps to erect the spine, but cannot fix the spine permanently. Braces are best used during adolescence, while the bones are still growing. After the bones are fully grown, the braces are not needed and not effective. There are more comfortable braces like thoracolumosacral orthosis.
Sometimes braces don't work as well and the patient needs surgery. During a certain surgery, the surgeon fuses the bones in the spine. Sometimes a rod is put in the back, but then another surgery is needed to remove the rod and during the period the rod is in the back the patient needs to wear a body cast.
Curves less than 20 degrees don't need immediate treatment, but will be carefully watched by the doctor, they will take X-rays. If the curve increases, you may need a back brace. A back brace pushes the spine into position, but it will not completely fix the curve. A brace is changed to fit you as you grow and develop. If the curve is too big to start with, then they will need surgery. In surgery, the surgeon fuses pieces of the spine together. In the process a metal rod is attached to the spine. Most people will leave the metal rod in their spine, so that they don't need another surgery. Surgery doesn't fix the curve completely; it only fixes the curved spine 50%.
Children who have mild curves do not need treatment, but for a serious curve the child may need to see an orthopedic spine specialist. The doctor decides what to do base on age, how much more is the patient going to grow, the degree and pattern of the curve, and the type of scoliosis. Here are the treatments the doctor may use: observation, braces, or surgery.
For observation, the doctor sees the patient every 4 to 6 months when the patient is still growing with a curve of less than 25 degrees. To keep a curve from getting worse, doctors want the patient to wear a brace. If the patient is still growing, has a curve of 25 to 36 degrees, etc., then the brace will be the most effective. If the doctors want to correct a curve or stop the scoliosis from getting worse, they may want to do a surgery. People have also tried to treat scoliosis throughchiropractic manipulation, electrical stimulation, nutritional supplementation, and exercising. It is already proven that exercising does not stop curves, but if the patient wishes to exercise for their health, that’s fine. There are many types of braces, such as the Milwaukee brace that corrects a curve and has a neck ring, and the thoracolumosacral orthosis which is a brace that corrects curves whose apex is at or below the eighth thoracic vertebra and is an underarm brace.
To see some more photos related to Scoliosis and the body click on the link labeled "Photo Gallery", seen above or click here.
To learn more about the treatments of scoliosis please visit this additional website:
http://www.srs.org/patients/
First, doctors will also get X-rays of your spine, to make sure of the severity of the curve. Sometimes the curve doesn't even need treatment. An orthopedist will take your scoliosis from there, by first measuring the severity of your scoliosis through the angles. The orthopedist will make sure that your curve doesn't get worse by having checkups often, but sometimes you will need surgery or a brace to assist you through scoliosis.
A brace helps to erect the spine, but cannot fix the spine permanently. Braces are best used during adolescence, while the bones are still growing. After the bones are fully grown, the braces are not needed and not effective. There are more comfortable braces like thoracolumosacral orthosis.
Sometimes braces don't work as well and the patient needs surgery. During a certain surgery, the surgeon fuses the bones in the spine. Sometimes a rod is put in the back, but then another surgery is needed to remove the rod and during the period the rod is in the back the patient needs to wear a body cast.
Curves less than 20 degrees don't need immediate treatment, but will be carefully watched by the doctor, they will take X-rays. If the curve increases, you may need a back brace. A back brace pushes the spine into position, but it will not completely fix the curve. A brace is changed to fit you as you grow and develop. If the curve is too big to start with, then they will need surgery. In surgery, the surgeon fuses pieces of the spine together. In the process a metal rod is attached to the spine. Most people will leave the metal rod in their spine, so that they don't need another surgery. Surgery doesn't fix the curve completely; it only fixes the curved spine 50%.
Children who have mild curves do not need treatment, but for a serious curve the child may need to see an orthopedic spine specialist. The doctor decides what to do base on age, how much more is the patient going to grow, the degree and pattern of the curve, and the type of scoliosis. Here are the treatments the doctor may use: observation, braces, or surgery.
For observation, the doctor sees the patient every 4 to 6 months when the patient is still growing with a curve of less than 25 degrees. To keep a curve from getting worse, doctors want the patient to wear a brace. If the patient is still growing, has a curve of 25 to 36 degrees, etc., then the brace will be the most effective. If the doctors want to correct a curve or stop the scoliosis from getting worse, they may want to do a surgery. People have also tried to treat scoliosis throughchiropractic manipulation, electrical stimulation, nutritional supplementation, and exercising. It is already proven that exercising does not stop curves, but if the patient wishes to exercise for their health, that’s fine. There are many types of braces, such as the Milwaukee brace that corrects a curve and has a neck ring, and the thoracolumosacral orthosis which is a brace that corrects curves whose apex is at or below the eighth thoracic vertebra and is an underarm brace.
To see some more photos related to Scoliosis and the body click on the link labeled "Photo Gallery", seen above or click here.
To learn more about the treatments of scoliosis please visit this additional website:
http://www.srs.org/patients/
