Adult scoliosis relates to anyone that has scoliosis and is eighteen or older. Adult scoliosis is different from children scoliosis cases in that adults are skeletally mature and may have different treatment options. Scoliosis in adults is usually accompanied with back pain and that is why they choose to get themselves evaluated.
Treatment difficulties for the spine surgeon may exist since adult scoliosis can cause the spine to become stiff. In many cases, advanced disc degeneration that can create severe pain is accompanied with the scoliosis. Many patients with adult scoliosis may experience osteoporosis, which can play a contributing factor. All of these factors add into the equation of what treatment is right for the patient.
Degenerative scoliosis is one of the most common types of scoliosis for older adults and may progress. This type of scoliosis is usually associated with stenosis and leg pain. Most treatment for adult scoliosis is non-operative. Conservative treatment options may include physical therapy or injection therapy.
A spine specialist will put together a treatment program consisting of exercise and conditioning to help the patient increase function and energy, while trying to reduce pain. Steroid injections may also be used to help reduce pain. Bracing is rarely used in adults as it rarely helps with pain relief.
Surgery is recommended for curvatures that are worsening or when previous treatment options have been exhausted. It is not uncommon in adult scoliosis cases when discs are severely degenerated, which require the spinal fusion to be extended down to the sacrum. This situation may require the surgeon to perform the surgery on both your back and front side.
Thankfully, new options in minimally invasive scoliosis enable a surgeon to make several smaller incisions rather than a single long incision. Special instruments are inserted through the portals to untwist the scoliotic spine. Recovery is much faster and much less painful as there is less disruption to muscles, tendons and ligaments.
The length of the recovery depends on how the nature of the surgery and the age of the patient. Some patients will be back to full activity in three months, and some patients may need as long as six to nine months to properly heal. Many patients become thrilled and happy knowing the pain they suffered with is no longer going to bother them.
About Adults with Previous Operated Scoliosis
Often older techniques such as anterior surgery for lumbar scoliosis, Harrington rods, or Cotrel-Dubousset instrumentation may have long fusions with minimal correction or they were fused in some kyphosis.
With time and aging, these individuals may develop progressive disc degeneration resulting in a stooping or flatback syndrome, or back and leg pain from degeneration. Other causes of back pain in a previously operated patient include deformities or non-unions with broken rods.
Related Topics
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Stenosis is a condition that can develop as a person ages, particularly in those over 50. It is characterized by a narrowing of the spinal canal which places pressure on the spinal cord and nerves, because there is not enough room [Read more...]
What is kyphosis and what symptoms are caused by it? Kyphosis and lordosis are types of spinal deformities. While slight curvature of the spine is normal and healthy, there are some cases where it is over-pronounced and can cause both cosmetic deformity [Read more...]
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Dr. Christopher Rolf Johnson at Colorado Spine Partners in Denver is referred back pain and neck pain patients; herniated disc patients; and scoliosis patients from across Colorado and the nearby states of Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska and New Mexico. As a regional spine center of excellence, Colorado Spine Partners is the only spine center in Colorado listed on SpineCenterNetwork.com and CentersforArtificialDisc.com. As a fellowship-trained spine surgeon, Dr. Chris Johnson can provide a second opinion for back surgery; neck surgery; treatment for a herniated disc in the low back or neck; scoliosis surgery; and treatment options for flatback syndrome.
Dr. Johnson is proficient in the use of several FDA-approved artificial discs in the neck. If you’ve been told you need a spinal fusion or an ACDF surgery (anterior cervical discectomy and fusion), Dr. Johnson can provide a second opinion for neck surgery that provides this advanced artificial disc replacement option for motion preservation. Visit CentersforArtificialDisc.com for more detailed information on artificial disc replacement surgery. Dr. Johnson is also trained in minimally invasive spine surgery where he uses tubular retractors through a small one-inch incision which lessons disruption to muscles and ligaments, eliminates the need for outside blood, and enables most spine surgery patients to go home the same day for a quick recovery.
