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Overview of Degenerative Scoliosis Pain Management Treatment

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Degenerative scoliosis in adults can be extremely painful and cause pain that is in the lower back or possibly radiates down through the buttock region into the legs. How does it occur and what are the treatments for adult degenerative scoliosis?

There are two ways that a person in their adult years develops degenerative scoliosis. The first is if the individual had scoliosis as an adolescent. Studies degenerative scoliosishave shown that if a person has adolescent scoliosis in excess of 35 to 40°, then through adulthood it can worsen at a rate of 1° per year.

This may not sound like a lot, but over a period of 30 years, a person may end up with in excess of a 70° curvature. As scoliosis is typically a three-dimensional curvature problem, the end result may be that the individual tilts off to one side, and also tilts significantly forward.

The second way that a person develops degenerative scoliosis as an adult is through severe arthritis. Anyone who has arthritis in one knee that is much worse than the other knows that arthritis is not often symmetric. What can happen in the spine is that one side can be much more arthritic than the other and the person can start to develop breakdown of that side and a curvature can start to develop.

As the breakdown continues, biomechanics kick in as the angles get severe and can actually make the situation much worse. As the spine continues to angle, nerves that are on the concave side of the curve start to get pinched and that is where the individual can have pain radiating down the buttock and the leg from that compression. so in essence the back pain occurs from the arthritis that has made the curvature worsen, and the leg pain occurs

pain management mesa az

X-ray of adult scoliosis

from nerve pinching which is termed spinal stenosis.

What nonsurgical treatment is available for degenerative scoliosis?

Unlike adolescent scoliosis, bracing is of no help for adult scoliosis. Typically the curve is not flexible as arthritis has caused it to worsen and it is what is called a structural problem. So bracing does nothing to correct the abnormal curvature. One treatment that can help significantly is physical therapy. This can strengthen up the muscles around the spine along with a person’s core muscles including abdominals. Similar to physical therapy for extremity arthritis, this can help decrease pain and take some pressure off of the arthritic spinal joints. chiropractic treatment can also help relieve some pain in the back and also from the spinal stenosis. It can help improve blood flow and bring more oxygen in to help with pain control.

Pain medication can be very helpful for degenerative scoliosis pain. Typically from mild to moderate pain over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen and Tylenol are sufficient. For acute flare-ups, short-term narcotic medication may be very helpful as well. Chronic narcotic medication is not the best idea for the treatment of degenerative scoliosis pain, however, if the person is in severe pain and not a surgical candidate then it may be necessary.

Pain management procedures for the pain from degenerative scoliosis are the best treatment going. Due to the fact that multiple levels are afflicted with arthritis and in pain, injections in or around the arthritic facet joints can significantly reduce the pain level a person is experiencing.

adult scoliosis treatment

Radiofrequency Ablation for Degenerative Scoliosis

Medial branch blocks around the arthritic facet joints can provide pain relief for months, and if the pain returns a radiofrequency ablation at multiple painful levels can diminish the pain for over a year.

Surgery for degenerative scoliosis is a very big decision, as any procedure entails significant risks. It’s a very different procedure then a fusion for adolescent scoliosis, as the individual is not as able to withstand a lot of the  fluid shifts and blood loss involved with the procedure. Most adult scoliosis procedures are either staged or last a very long time, and if surgery can be avoided with effective pain management that is best.

If you’re suffering from painful scoliosis, let Arizona Pain Specialists help you. The practice has multiple locations with Award-winning, Board-certified Arizona pain management doctors and chiropractors who are experts in the management of painful scoliosis.

Call 602-507-6550 for more information and scheduling with the best pain management doctors in Arizona.

Pain Management Treatment for Degenerative Scoliosis

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A significant amount of the population has some sort of scoliosis. This may be a carryover from having scoliosis as an adolescent, or it may be a situation that develops as a result of arthritis in the back in adulthood.

A good rule of thumb is that if an individual has scoliosis as an adolescent that was in excess of 40° in curvature, then the situation may worsen at 1 to 2° per year as an adult. Think about that for a second. While 2° might not sound like a lot every year, over a period of 20 to 30 years that means the curvature could worsen to over 70°. The pain may then become severe and bother patients on a daily basis.

What are the nonoperative options to treat degenerative scoliosis that is painful?

There are numerous options with pain management Mesa AZ which can help diminish the pain being experienced from degenerative scoliosis. The pain results from arthritis that has asymmetrically eroded the joints in the back. This causes the back to curve and is painful and may cause nerves to be pinched which is spinal stenosis. Due to this, an individual may end up with  back pain along with pain going down one or both legs from the pinched nerves. Not a great combination.

Treatment options consist of the following:

  1. Medications – nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, Tylenol, muscle relaxers, short term narcotics can all help.
  2. Physical Therapy – Can help individuals be more flexible and strengthen up the back stabilizing muscles. The pain may be reduced with an adequate course of treatment.
  3. Injections – These may consist of facet injections, epidural injections for pinched nerves from the scoliosis, or medial branch blocks.
  4. Radiofrequency Ablation – An excellent procedure for degenerative arthritis in various joints that lead to the scoliosis in the first place. Much less risky than surgery and may allow for 1-2 years of pain relief!
  5. Bracing – does not help for degenerative scoliosis. It may help as a child to prevent scoliosis from getting worse, but in adults there’s really no indication for it.

Surgery is an absolute last resort. It’s elective and risky with a complication percentage risk of over 70%. The success rate is high, and most patients end up better. The recovery, however, is 6 to 12 months. The patient may end up with an infection, foot drop, failure to fuse, or a serious medical complication or death. The stakes are high, and pain management is the best route unless quality of life is so poor that surgery is really the only answer.

For the best pain management doctors in Arizona, call (602) 507-6550 today. These options need to be handled by the best hands in the business. With 4 years in a row of Patient’s Choice Awards and Board Certified, Fellowship Trained doctors at various AZ pain clinic locations, Arizona Pain Specialists has the best pain doctors in the southwest.

Call today for help!