“Why is my curve getting worse?”

Would you believe that the ligaments of the scoliosis person are also changing? The disease of scoliosis attacks the structure of the ligament. It becomes up to 2.5 times more flexible than normal. This added flexibility causes poor support of the spinal column and allows greater motion in the back joints. This added motion causes the scoliosis curve to progress and collapse.

The changes to the scoliosis ligaments are caused by excessive hormones, lack of vitamin D, poor digestion and absorption of calcium in the small intestine and cellular transport, and over stress load due to the curved sloping to one side.

These changes can be seen in scoliosis curves less than 3 degrees, by using SEMG*, blood assays and hormonal assay. I would especially advise these tests if one of the parents of a scoliosis child has scoliosis.

Ok, now we know that the muscles of the scoliosis spine are different from side to side.

The muscles on the convex side (the outside rounded part of the curve) are stretched and register higher muscle activity, which is seen on muscle tests (SEMG*). The muscles in the concave (inside of the curve) of the scoliosis spine are shorter and the muscle activity is much less. We also know that the concave scoliosis muscles are undergoing a scarring process which causes the shorting process of the muscle.

Once again Doc…. “Why is my curve getting worse?”

There are several co- factors that play in scoliosis curve progression.

Early in scoliosis there exists a degeneration process of the muscles, ligaments, discs, and vertebral bodies of the spine. This degeneration occurs at a cellular level.

Sorry to say, the underlying disease of scoliosis is not seen on X-ray. X-rays can only monitor the position of the bone structure. In other words, as the spinal column is falling, changing position, “getting worse”, an X-Ray cannot detect cellular degeneration, it can only measure the location/angle of the spine. The cellular aspect of scoliosis should be addressed by additional tests.

Well…, with that being said, let’s face some of the hard scoliosis facts.

“As the curve increases”, the degeneration of the muscles, ligaments, and discs occur,…. and as the support of the muscles, ligaments and discs of the scoliosis spine decreases, the curve increase,…. thus spinal scoliosis degeneration occurs, or “curve got worse”, one may call the above process a vicious cycle.

Now for the good news!

In this series of blog posts I will answer some of the most common questions I get asked about scoliosis. In my last post I shared my answer to, "Why was my doctor visit so short?'

Today I want to answer the question of… “Why is my scoliosis curve getting worse?”

I am frequently asked this very question at my practice by new patients during their first scoliosis consult.

After these new patients ask why their scoliosis curves are getting worse, this statement usually always follows …. “I have been to my doctor for the last year and all that's been done for me is taking X-rays and telling me to come back in another six months”.

As a scoliosis patient or parent, you may have heard from your doctor that you or your child has Idiopathic Scoliosis, and "we do not know the origin of the disease” therefore just wait until it becomes bad enough to do surgery.

Sorry to say, you may have been told the "standard" scoliosis answer and in many cases received the "standard" scoliosis care.

I’ll give you a different perspective on "standard" answers and care. It may sound archaic, but it is very telling.

Would you accept this from your dentist?

Thank you for your plentiful requests.

During the last several blogs, an overwhelming amount of comments and requests were directed to:

“Why was my doctor’s office visit so short?”

“Why was my scoliosis curve getting worse?”

“What did my doctor see on X-ray that made the scoliosis get worse?"

“Is there something that we can do for my scoliosis other than wait?”

“Why Me?”

These are very good questions about scoliosis and the treatment care of scoliosis.

Let's take a look at each of these questions.

“Why was my doctor’s office visit so short?”

I have had many inquiries regarding this little scoliosis secret.

Did you know…

• During pregnancy the scoliosis curve of the thoracic area progresses from 13.1 degrees to 20.1 degrees.

• During pregnancy the scoliosis curve of the lumbar area progresses from 10.6 degrees to 23.2 degrees.

• The large “C” type curve (thorolumbical) area progresses from 12 degrees to 17 degrees.

I promised you females progress faster in scoliosis than males, did I not?

Well in scoliosis curve progression the female body has 3 additional hormones that affect the pelvis and ligaments. These female hormones affect the skeletal system much younger than males. The female pelvis is also shaped wider and broader than males. The CN system of a female matures at a differ rate as to the rapid rate of skeleton development. I hope this helps.

So the little secret of scoliosis curve progression is out of the bag now…

Well join me in the coming week as we continue to explore more interesting information about scoliosis.

We Take the Fear and Worry Out of Scoliosis

Dr. Art Copes

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