Scoliosis Treatment

Our spine is our backbone. It runs straight down our back. Every person’s spine naturally curves a bit. But, people who suffer from scoliosis have an abnormal curving of the spine. They have C or S-shaped curve in their spine. This disorder causes the spine to curve one side. It can have an effect on any part of the spine, but most common regions that get affected by scoliosis are at the level of the chest and lower back.

Causes

Scoliosis can appear at any age. But, you can observe symptoms of it from the age of 10 to 12 years, in teenagers, or sometimes in infants. The reasons for the change in shape are usually not known or identifiable easily during the early stage. But, some common causes through which you can pinpoint it includes neurological abnormalities, birth defects, injuries or infections of the spine, or genetic disorders.

Symptoms

• Back pain
• Facing issues while breathing because of the reduced area in the chest for lungs to enlarge.
• The shoulder blade of one side of the body sticks out more than the other.
• Uneven hips, shoulders, and waist
• A rotating or twisted spine
• One shoulder blade that becomes visible more than the other
• Reduced range of motion and changes with walking.

Risk Factors

Because of advancement in technology scoliosis surgeries, today tend to be safe and sound and achieve better outcomes than ever before. Still, results may vary. Risks associated with scoliosis surgery are:

• Infection
• Nerve damage
• Blood loss
• Bowel and Bladder problems
• Pseudoarthosis - failure of the spine to fuse
• Cerebrospinal fluid leak
• Instrumentation failure
• Vertebral deterioration in the levels adjacent to the fused section.
• Neurologic complications such as numbness, weakness, paralysis, abnormal sensation.
• Lung complications
• Urinary tract infection
• Gastrointestinal complications
• Blood Clot

Post Operative Care

Once the operation gets complete a patient will be brought to a recovery room or ICU and woken up. A patient will be safely monitored and given some pain killer medicine to ease the pain.

Once a patient will be ready, he/she will be brought to a hospital room or ward. The nurses will do regular check up to ensure a patient is as comfortable as possible.

The physiotherapist will teach a patient some breathing exercises, and foot and toe exercises.

After 2-3 days the drips may be removed and the physiotherapist will help a patient to gradually start to stand up.

A person may require wearing a brace to protect the spine for 3 to6 months after the surgery.

Generally, a patient can go to his/her home after 7 to 10 days after the surgery.

Most of the patients will be back to their normal activities around 3 to 6 months after the surgery. But, the timescale is different for each person.