My son was diagnosed with Scoliosis a couple of months ago. He is just 10, I had been diagnosed with it when I was a year older than him. For me the experience was brutal and life changing. I wore a back brace from 7th to 9th grade. I went through two of them because of all the growing I was doing. They were about $2000 each. After those failed the doctors scheduled me for back surgery (Spinal Fusion), I was then 14. It was a long hard road for me and my parents. Today I still live with chronic back and neck pain, as well as an area where I have lost feeling on one layer of me, and another layer is hyper sensitive and registers pain with touch.

I guess I am very worried about if my son will suffer the same fate. I was kind of shocked by the news since my doctors had assured me that this skips every 1-2 generations. Now I just feel like they don’t really know. I just wanted to vent as this has been weighing heavy on my mind lately. Thanks for listening.

Tina, I’m sorry to hear of this. :( What’s the next step for your son? Has treatment for it changed since you were diagnosed?

I am taking a route that had not been considered for me. I have him in chiropractic care 3 times per week. My chiropractor thinks that he can help since we have caught it earlier than it is normally detected. Traditional medicine has not changed the way they treat Scoliosis, so we are just trying some alternative therapies first. Hopefully that will make all the difference for him. We take him to the chiropractor 3 times per week currently. I will keep you posted.

Tina,

I think you are right on with the chiropractic care. I have seen it work miracles in my son’s life. He was non-verbal at age 4 and I just happened to mention it to my chiropractor. He asked to take a look at Matthew and found that the top three vertebrae (were the nerve centers for language are) were just not very “loose” so he worked on Matthew for awhile. I don’t know if it is coincidence or not but Matthew is now very verbal.

Hang in there and trust your instincts!

Thanks, it has been hard. I have a couple of friends who do not really follow alternative medicine and all but accused me of neglect for not taking him to a doctor first. It has been a frustrating couple of months to say the least. I have found it difficult to get the support I thought I would from some of my friends.

Yep, I’m not at all surprised – that’s why I said to trust your instincts. Traditional western medicine is not the only answer and I would explore absolutely every possibility before surgery. If you do need to do surgery, there is also the possibility of chiropractic care or even Accupuncture or Accupressure to supplement so that his journey might be easier than yours was.

Don’t give up!

Hey Tina. If you have a chance look into the work of Pete Egoscue. He’s written a number of books including Pain Free and The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion. I’m not sure if any of his methods are relevant/appropriate for scoliosis but if they you should definitely look into them. They have a number of clinics in California and you might try visiting them to get another opinion. Feel free to reach out to me for more info if you’d like.

That is very interesting about the Egoscue method. I have just been having a read.

Tina… I am sorry for what you are going through and I would also say that alternative medicine is always worth look into. So many illnesses today are treated with pills and stuff for a quick fix and often with side effects too where as many therapies and holistic medicines can treat a condition just as well if not better at times.

As for you son, I wish him well with his chiropractor. Let us know how he gets on.

Thanks everyone! I will definately look into the Egoscue method Jon, thanks.

I am just trying to avoid the traditional methods if I can. My back braces were obvious when I moved and gave other kids an opportunity to tease, and required that I altered a lot of my clothes. Not to mention the way the back brace rested on my hips caused circulation issues, and spider veins at just 11 years old.

I am considering both accupressure and accupuncture for my son as well.

I am sorry Tina for all you have been through. Children can be cruel.
Sounds good about your son and really hope that he gets some good results. I have never tried either but know people who have with good results for different ailments.

Awe, that’s a really horrible thing.
I really hope he makes it through as painless as possible.

Best wishes to you and your son.

Thanks so much for the support, it has been a rough couple of months for so many reasons. It is good to come somewhere and be supported. :-)

You can count on support from us here. Best wishes to you.

Hey Tina,

Hang in there girl!! I had the same thing happen in my life. I was diagnosed at a young age but then went back in at 14 and they said it was gone. I went on to play every sport under the sun and now I DO still have slight Scoliosis (spelling) but I’m not in pain. I think your idea of the alternative medicines are a great ONE!! Conventional medicine just doesn’t cut it sometimes. I would also look into having your son get massaged. I know this helps as well and has helped me dramatically. Hang in there all will be ok!

He is currently in a lot of pain each and every day. Scoliosis has not reportedly gone away for most of our family. I have a lot of faith in trying the alternative approaches because those of us who fought this with traditional suffered. I think things will be different for him. I just hate to see him in pain. Every night he cries, and several times a day has painful spasms. They say I complained very young of back pain, but they thought I was mimicking my granmother, lol. I have a gal that is a member of my site that wants to barter one of my hand drawn portraits for a massage. I think I will let her work on my son!

Yah, I don’t think mine went away at all…I think the doctor was full of it but I guess mine is a more mild case. I’m sorry that your son has to go through this. Like you said things will be different for him and hopefully he will have great chiropractic sessions, massages and whatever else he needs to overcome this pain and condition.

hi Tina, i always look at things from different perspective. i believe in spirituality, and god almighty is able to do the impossible, and cure the incurable. therefore i will pray to the creator of heavens and earths for the sake of your son. may god almighty ease his pain and yours, and heal him without any surgery,amen.

Thank you so much Abdul, that really means a lot to me.