My name is Vanessa, and I'm twenty years old. I'm in the US Army. I have scoliosis. I have an S curve. I have a 36 degree curve in my upper back going to the right and a 22 degree curve in my lower back going to the left, and I had to get a medical wavier to get in the army because of it. The problem I'm faced with now is wearing all the gear causes back pain, but I can endure the mild back pain. The issue I can't overcome is the nicknames that go along with having scoliosis like 'sideways' because one shoulder is lower than the other one. Also, my rib cage sticks out farther on my left side, and my shoulder blade and back sticks out farther on the right side of my back. I can't stand people saying stuff about it. I had a back brace in high school that didn't work. I got made fun of for that. I just want to be normal so I need to not have scoliosis anymore. I'm desperate. I will try anything short of back surgery or a back brace. A back brace will not work because I'm no longer growing and the physical nature of my job. Back surgery would get me a medical discharge. If anyone has an effective exercise regiment, it would be greatly appreciated. I go to korea in two days, and because I know I'm going to see the same people who are going to make comments and bring up my scoliosis, I don't want to go. This isn't something I chose to have and I didn't bring my scoliosis on myself. It's genetic, and I was born this way. Any ideas on how to make it better that might even be a little bit effective would be greatly appreciated. I really am desperate. Please help.

Hi Vanessa. Don't worry, you're not alone. A lot of people have back issues, and it's for a variety of reasons. You can always have surgery to correct the problem. I know of several people who were born with a bad back. Others became crippled due to lifestyle. Heck, there are even women out there who need breast reduction surgery to fix their back problems. You think they're alone? No. Get help and ask around. Someone will listen. Good luck.