Back and Neck Pain Exchange

The Problem with Spinal Fusion
Scoliosis is a very common diagnostic in America. Many people have some form of scoliosis, weather it is severe or very mild. Scoliosis is not a huge health risk and it progresses very slowly. However, it is still something that needs to be taken care of and treated as soon as possible. It is defined as a curve in the spine, it can be s or c shaped and can curve to different degrees in different directions. Also, since there are different severities of scoliosis there are different treatments that can be taken to help correct the problem.
A very mild case of scoliosis is usually less than twenty degrees, and before a child is done growing. When this happens a child is usually just watched over the years to see if the curve increases at all. If a curve gets worse and gets to about thirty degrees doctors usually prescribe a brace for the child to wear. The brace is to help the spine grow straight, rather than growing in the path of the curve. If curves become forty-five degrees or more and are still growing, and children who are done growing and have curves of sixty degrees or more than doctors usually insists on the child having a spinal fusion surgery to try and correct the curve (Rowe, Bernstein, Riddick, Adler, & et al., 1997).
Wearing a brace to help correct scoliosis, or at least stop it from getting worse, only really works when you catch it at a young age. When you are prescribed to wear a brace you have to wear it for a long time. Most kids have to wear it anywhere from 8 to 23 hours a day. In a study I found most kids who wear a brace less than 23 hours a day show little improvement in their spine (Weinstein, Dolan, Cheng, Danielsson, & Morcuende, 2008). Even though many kids will hate to wear an uncomfortable brace for that long, it can still help them in the long run. Now that I am informed more about scoliosis treatments I personally feel like it is a much better option than having a spinal fusion surgery. The surgery is very intrusive and although it helps correct the problem faster it doesn't always have the best outcome.
In many cases of scoliosis you will have what seems to be very severe back pain. I found out I had scoliosis by going to the doctors because of my back pain. Although I have had a spinal fusion surgery and have not had any real complications, I would not recommend it to anyone. I was told I needed to get a spinal fusion surgery and that I really didn't have any other options. I had two curves over 50 degrees and going in opposite directions and one curve that went in towards my rib cage, which was about 20 degrees. I unfortunately caught my scoliosis too late to try a brace to fix it. The only real severe thing about my case was the fact that my spine curved in towards my rib caged and could penitently hurt my ribs and lungs. Otherwise my curves were severe but they don't cause as many health risks. My surgery ended with two of my vertebrae being fused together and my curves being brought down to one 20 degree curve and one 30 degree curve still in opposite directions and my curve in towards my rib cage barely being there. I also now have two metals rods, four hooks and twenty screw in my back attached to my spine. Even though my results sounds good on paper and look a lot better on my x-rays, I now have a harder time doing simple everyday tasks.