Scoliosis may manifest as rounded or uneven shoulders, one hip that is higher than the other, or an asymmetrical appearance of the ribs when viewed from the back. Patients with scoliosis often have problems with balance & proprioception (balancing with your eyes closed). While scoliosis is defined as a Cobb angle of 10 degrees or greater, in truth, any sideways curve to the spine is abnormal, and has a risk of progressing. Ten degrees is an arbitrary figure, with no true clinical significance.
Patients with scoliosis may experience frequent headaches or back pain. It is also associated with chronic hip, knee, and leg pain. Some of the more severe symptoms include reduced function of the heart & lungs to the compression of these organs by the rotation of the ribs, and a reduction in life expectancy. Scoliosis patients have also been found to have a greater-than-normal incidence of digestive problems.
In my opinion, however, the worst part of living with scoliosis, though, is not the physical hurts, but the emotional ones. In one study conducted in Minnesota in 1986-1987, young women with scoliosis were 55% more likely to consider suicide and three times more likely to drink alcohol after school, than young women without scoliosis. Males were 79% more concerned about their relations with their peers, 50% more likely to report being unhealthy, 97% more likely to worry that their bodies were developing normally, and had a greater than 10-fold increase in the risk of having suicidal thoughts. Adults, too, are affected by the experience. One well-reknowned scoliosis specialist stated in 1999 that, "some adults with moderate to severe deformity may become mentally disabled by the deformity."
Scoliosis correction is not only about changing someone's spine. It's about changing their life.
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