Idiopathic scoliosis

Hi, I'm a 14 year old girl living in Melbourne, Australia. I just recently discovered my scoliosis after discovering a muscle protrusion in my back when I stood on my side to the mirror. I went to my GP and he told me I had a slight scoliosis. I had a back specialist look at my back and he told me my lower curve was the problematic one at 35 degrees and the top one (I can remember the degree) was most likely a compensatory curve for the lower one, but it wasn't too big. The specialist also informed me that my hips were well aligned and both legs were the same height, my neck is also well in line with my tail bone but there is curvature around my torso. I don't have agonising pain but I do get the occasional ache it is sometimes quite bothersome... I would really like to have my scoliosis straighter, but I would not like surgery. Would you say chiropractic care would possibly be beneficial to my situation and also if you have any tips on finding a good chiropractor as I know getting a bad chiropractor can turn out very badly. Please get back to me on this, I'm trying to stay positive and figure out ways by myself to use exercise to straighten it but I don't know if I'm doing it right and it sometimes makes me quite upset.


I have x-rays and I can send through copies but I might not do so just now, but if you think it would be more helpful to have a copy just send me a message and I'll send them through.
Thank you so much for your time and help with this, I really appreciate it.

Hello TD,
Firstly, be cautious taking anything you read on the net too seriously, including my comments. I haven't had the opportunity to examine you.

A Cobb's angle of 35* (the usual measure) is in fact quite large.

The big thing is not to let this affect you emotionally. Frankly there aren't too many perfect "Barbie doll" bodies around. Most folk have a defect of one sort or another. Remember, nobody else noticed this, not your parents, siblings, teacher, doctor... only you.

It's good that your hips are level, but was the x-ray taken with you standing? It can be quite misleading if they were taken lying down.

Ask your mum to stand behind you, place both her hands on your iliac crests, and she can get a pretty shrewd idea if you have a significantly short leg.

Chiropractic treatment, nor any other will straighten your spine; nor actually in my opinion is it terribly important to do so. If you have no pain, I'd be inclined to do much less, and focus on exercises for your back. They are your lot for life, like brushing your teeth. I ask all my patients to do lower back exercises in any case, and do them myself. They take less than two minutes before getting out of bed in the morning. That is important.

Yes, send me copies of the x-rays to brlewisatmweb.co.za If they are plain radiographs then you can easily photograph them on a clear window with a digi camera.

Your folks should be party to these discussions.

Dr B

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