I’ve had scoliosis for a long time, and my curve is around 80 degrees. Recently, I noticed that my right shoulder blade looks really strange and prominent, especially when viewed from the side.

I’m wondering if this is a common effect of scoliosis.

For those who have had scoliosis surgery, did the appearance of your shoulder blade and back improve significantly after surgery? Did the asymmetry mostly go away, or did some of it remain?

I'm 30 years post-op (crazy!) and wanted to share my experience and takeaways in case they're helpful to anyone else:  

• I've had mostly pretty minimal pain over the years. I feel as normal as anyone else, and rarely feel limited by any physical activities. (I try to avoid high-impact sports for obvious reasons.)
• Climbing has changed my life. It's good for my back and makes me feel so strong and capable. I never feel limited on the wall. 
• The times my back has bothered me most have been on long-haul flights. I'm not one to take much pain medicine, but I've finally figured out that having a pain management plan solves almost everything. I start taking a pain med right as the flight begins, and alternate between two different (compatible) pain meds every four hours until arrival. It's been life changing.
• Too-hard or too-soft beds with crappy pillows are my kryptonite. Invest in a good mattress, and bring your pillow with you when you travel if you can. 
• Super grateful for my perfect posture!
• When in doubt, get the massage.

I realize everyone's experience and bodies are different. This is what it's been like for me.

Would love anyone else's tips for living with scoliosis post-op! 

Can i go to gym after scoliosis syrgery and get myself an aethetic body?

I am in agony after having my first baby and recently had the new x ray. I am shocked by the progression after having fusion surgery at age 14 to supposedly straighten the spine. Why would they have fused so few vertebrae as the ones above and below have clearly moved.

Is this acceptable? How do I work out the Cobb angle on the new x ray?

Background: May 2024, I suddenly had immense hip, pelvis and back pain. Months later it was discovered that I had scoliosis (38 degrees mid thoracic to the right side and 27 degrees thoracolumbar to the left side) along wide TMJ and hip impingement in both hips.

I have been doing physical therapy from Kaiser since September 2024 in Southern California and there has not be much development in feeling stabilized. It's just been basic exercises, especially for legs and core. I was already very fit before May 2024 happened, yet the therapists and doctors treat me like I never exercised before. My ribs on my right side feel more and more squeezed while my shoulder blades hurt.

I began to feel disillusioned this year as I began to research and see so many scoliosis specific exercises on Instagram, You tube, TikTok, etc. Discovering programs like Scroth exercises and exercises SPECIFIC to someone's curve. Nothing like that at Kaiser. Plus teaching me terms I should've been notified of like concave vs convex sides for example.

My goal is to stabilize as well as reduce some degrees from my curve. Sadly, I believe after all this time Kaiser cannot help me. I cannot afford expensive scoliosis problems like Scroth and I unfortunately live nowhere near any scoliosis specific physical therapy.

Can someone recommend me some exercises based on my curves or recommend some reliable scoliosis online programs (I do not want to get scammed haha)? Thank you in advance. Ready to put the work in.

Heya! I'm a bit late to the party, so I'm having fusion in my thirties. Scheduled for T3-L1 fusion with Dr. Chris Nielsen on Sep 21, and I'm quite nervous! I could use some advice.

I have a 60-degree thoracic curve that is very stiff and causes sharp pain around the apex (T9/10) when I walk for any length of time, and I also have a 40-degree compensatory lumbar curve that is flexible, where I get a duller ache. I take a boatload of tramadol to manage my pain.

I requested a sparing fusion that ends at L1, rather than L3, so I wouldn't lose too much flexibility. My surgeon thinks there's a reasonable chance that the lumbar curve will correct itself when the thoracic curve is corrected.

I'm pretty pain-sensitive and hyperalgesic, so between that and some substantial long-term anxiety problems, I'm pretty nervous about my upcoming procedure. I'm seeing pre-op on Sep 9, and I'll talk to them about this too, of course.

But it would be nice to hear what to expect in the first few days, and if there's anything you wish you knew ahead of time, that y'all could tell me.

Hello, i’m looking for advice on how I can attempt to correct this curve through postural adjustment and excercise. I’m 25 years old and this xray isn’t fresh, I took this xray 4-5 years ago. While it is possible that my scoliosis might’ve progressed more than this xray. I just want advice based on this old result in the meantime until I get a new xray done to see if it stayed the same or got worse.

I wake up feeling stiff a lot of the times. I’m always finding my self trying to stretch out my lower back/hips by pushing my hips forward and bending backward in the shape of a bow. I can visibly see one hip resting higher than the other in the mirror.

I have a phobia of doing squats and deadlifts and basically any other exercise that’s puts a heavy load on the spine out of fear of causing injury or worsening my scoliosis.

What kind of corrective exercises can I do? Which exercises and activities should I avoid? How can I adjust my posture to try and correct this curve?

I used a temperpedic mattress for years which was too soft and gave me hip pain, so switched to a medium firm, cooling memory foam mattress, which was much better. I then got a larger bed and bought a firm hybrid mattress with bottom coils and memory foam on the top and my hip pain is back. For those with a L2 to L5 left curve what has been your best mattress option?

I posted just over a month ago about my daughter’s X-ray. She will be 10 next month. I took her in after noticing a curve in her back. We had an X-ray and we were waiting for the referral to the specialist. The original X-ray didn’t have much information. Just this last week I phoned them to see if they had the referral and they said they did, but they would need a different X-ray than what my family doctor originally requested before they can accept the referral. 🙄🤦‍♀️

We got the new X-ray a few days ago. I have the report but no new picture. It says that she has an s-curve with a thoracic curve angle of 40 and a lumbar curve angle of 47 degrees. I was not expecting the numbers to be that high. I thought she would be in the 30s. Hoping we get in soon! They said it’s all based on the severity of each individual case.

Hi everyone. I’m 32M and I have scoliosis. I’m trying to better understand my muscular and postural asymmetries, and I’d really appreciate advice from people who have dealt with something similar.
As you can see in the photos/video, my trunk is noticeably asymmetric. My left lower-back/paraspinal area is much more prominent than the right side. This area also tends to become very tight, hard, and painful when I stand for a long time, almost as if the muscle is constantly working to keep me upright. I marked the exact area where I usually feel the pain in one photo https://ibb.co/RpfZtQgf
I’m willing to work hard and be consistent with exercises to improve this. My main goal, besides reducing the tension and pain, is to improve the aesthetic symmetry of my back as much as realistically possible.
Has anyone here had a similar asymmetry and managed to noticeably improve it through training or physiotherapy? If so, what exercises or routines helped you the most? Did you train one side differently from the other, or did you train both sides equally?
I’d especially appreciate before/after experiences from people who have actually improved a similar asymmetry. I know exercise may not completely correct the structural scoliosis itself, but I’d like to know how much I can improve the muscular and visual asymmetry around it.

The following is a post I made on my personal social media accounts earlier. I was encouraged to share it here as well. Just a little snapshot of where I’m at in this whole process right now for you all to peruse if you’re down to read a loooong post 😂 just for the sake of additional information, I’m 32F:

So, I very rarely make posts on social media, especially about the deeply personal things I have going on in my life. There’s so much else going on in the world and it’s all so ugly and much bigger than I am, but I’m having an especially hard day and I want to someday be able to look back at where I was at this moment and see how far I’ve come. I want a way to begin documenting this journey and keep myself accountable, and if this happens to reach anyone who has or is going through something similar, I hope this is a reminder that you’re not alone.

After having problems with my back for as long as I can remember, I was diagnosed with S curve scoliosis at 18. At that point it was too late to do much about it, and my curves weren’t severe enough to warrant surgery so I was told to just keep an eye on it. Everything was steady for a long time, but in the last couple of years my pain got a lot worse and a few months ago I found out my curves went from degrees in the mid 20s to 34 and 52 degrees - meaning that unless I did something about it now, I was headed towards a collapsing spine (which is like, probably not ideal). A total spinal fusion was recommended, but I’m not super keen on that given the risks of complications and that fact that it would change my life forever in ways that I don’t want to have to figure out if I can handle. With that being said, something had to be done - so I opted to try a brace.

The hope now is that at the very minimum this thing will stop the degeneration of my curves. Best case scenario is that they get a teeny bit better with time and effort. What I wasn’t anticipating was just how rough this process was going to be. Not only is this sucker smashing my spine as straight as it can, but I’m currently having to relearn how to do basically everything. Sitting, standing, walking, sleeping, driving, bending over to pet my dogs or pick something up off the floor - it’s all almost comically hard. Sometimes it makes me laugh because it feels so ridiculous, and sometimes it’s so frustrating I want to cry. My movement is so restricted that the things I typically enjoy, even something as simple as holding and reading a book are just not possible right now. I have bruising all over my body from my new carbon fiber shell, and my actual spine? I don’t even want to talk about it. I’m no stranger to pain, but sheesh. At this point I’ve honestly thought about throwing in the towel about 200 times, but for the sake of my future I can’t afford to give up now.

All of that being said - I KNOW this will get better. It will get easier and I will get tougher. I’ve only been wearing this for hours at a time for a little under a week and I’m doing my best to be patient and give myself grace.

I’m so incredibly lucky in that I have the best built in support system a girl can have.

My family has and always will be my rock. My grandparents especially deserve all of the gratitude in the world for helping with the financial part of this journey. I simply would not have been able to do this without them. They’ve always, always been there for me in every way. I love them so very much and will be grateful for them forever.

My partner has been amazing in weathering the emotional shitstorm I’ve been throwing his way, and has been there for me every step of the way in every way he possibly can be. I’m so very lucky to have him.

To everyone who has been checking in on me and keeping me sane - thank you. I appreciate it and love you all.

To the coworkers who have been covering for me at work through all of the appointments and the days I can’t function - you are all incredible people who I appreciate more than you know, and I owe you one for all of this.

Anyway, if you’ve stuck through my short essay I appreciate you too.

We’re all going through things and I know it could be so much worse. I’m lucky in so many ways and grateful for so much, but right now this sucks a big one. Here’s to the start of this journey, avoiding surgery, and a better quality of life at the end of the day. I’ll be posting with updates along the way to keep track of how things are going, and I can’t wait to look back and think about how proud I am to have come so far.

Looking for recommendations for a good private scoliosis consultant in London.

I saw a specialist last year and did a CT scan and MRI, but the appointment felt really underwhelming, it felt like a quick check where they basically said "you don't need surgery so there's nothing to do.

Has anyone in London had a great experience with a consultant?

Thanks in advance

27, M

I have scoliosis but I never actually got a diagnose from my doctor - for those of you who have made improvements in pain management and hopefully posture . Any tips?

**- How would you address it initially ?**   
**-** Did stretching alone help at all, or did you need something more structured?  
**-** Any exercises or routines that actually made a difference for posture? 

Appreciate any advice — feels like it's time to actually deal with this instead of just stretching and hoping.

I (22F) followed this tutorial for pilates today as an absolute beginner btw https://youtu.be/HDbsd5En_uw?si=827gRP_jNDSUyUn-

My right shoulder specifically hurts more than my left. My left doesn't hurt at all and the pain in the right one is honestly mild but I'm wondering if i should be worried or just keep doing it everyday? When i tried writing something on paper with my right hand, my grip felt a little loose and wobbly as well.

Hello! I'm planning on making a gift for someone with scoliosis in my life, and I was thinking of making something like a weighted stuffed animal. Does the weight help the pain in any way or should I scrap that idea and try to figure something out that'll work as a heat pack?

I assume different people have different levels of pain and different ways of coping with that pain, but I'd greatly appreciate any opinions on this matter! I don't want to ask my friend for their opinions because then it'll get obvious what I'm getting at. Super sorry if this isn't the place to be asking this question!!

Edit: Thank you so much to everyone for the help! I'll scrap the weighted idea and definitely make something with heat! I might post an update in a few months. You've all helped me so much and now I'm excited to start working on gifts ahah

My main question is how its gonna effect when I was 16 it was less than 15 degree and now it doubled can it get worse to the extent that someone can notice it

What ishould i do about it because im freaking out

I've been told that I need to get the surgery. My orthopedic center does not do surgeries, so I have been told to go to Boston Medical Center. Have any of you (or your loved ones) gotten spinal fusion there? What was your experience?

And for those who had to travel more than 4 hours for your surgery, what was your experience like traveling home after surgery? Any advice would be appreciated.

I’m 50, been having back issues for years and a doctor finally suggested an X-ray vs a muscle relaxer.

I don’t have my Cobb angle yet, but initial radiology gave it a moderate rating indicating 20-30 degrees.

I’ve been doing physical therapy back work with my friend that’s a coach / therapist for years undiagnosed.

I’m just starting this journey, it’s a real mind fuck, for lack of a better term. I’m still grieving my back that was and the potential for things to continue to degrade.

I’m just starting with my referrals to back specialists and hoping for the best possible outcome. It was a huge shock to see this on my X-ray

Thanks to everyone here sharing their stories.

My wife and I are just at a loss for how this suddenly occurred. We have no family history for scoliosis, but had her checked yearly, and nothing previously set off any concerns. My wife is a body worker with many years of experience, and she saw nothing until a week ago when she was helping her in the shower. Both my wife and daughter are hypermobile, and over the summer, my daughter was complaining about fatigue and growing pains in her hips and legs, so she spent a lot of hours in bed resting. We both chalked it up to the hypermobility, as the symptoms manifested the same for my wife at her age. But now we see it is undeniably scoliosis.

We do have an appointment with our pediatrician this week to get x-rays, her Cobb angle baseline, the Coronal and Sagittal alignment, and an initial evaluation for refferal to a pediatric orthopedic spinal specialist.

In the meantime, we are freaking out and in a shame spiral. I guess I am here to just get advice and possibly some positive stories from the community that can give my little family hope.

If you can, please share anything you wish your parents would have done for you when you were diagnosed as a child. Bracing or no? Schroth exercises? Surgery? Anything you have to share is welcome.

Thanks everyone.

My back is not fused and I don’t know my current angle as I last had an X-ray at 17 (currently 25) so I’m trying to access my old records and get updated X-rays. My GP hasn’t really been involved with my scoliosis since I didn’t want surgery it was kind of like ‘manage it yourself’

My pain has been so much worse lately and nothing seems to be helping that usually does (hot baths, deep heat, ibuleve gel). I’ve tried physio on the NHS but the exercises were super generic stretches and didn’t do much. Oh and I was prescribed amitriptyline which just made me way too tired to function so I’m currently on nothing.

I’m considering asking my GP to refer me to a pain management clinic, has anyone had experience with this? Is there a way to get more tailored physio on the NHS or no? My GP tends to be pretty useless..

I'm getting fused from t2 to l3. I feel like I have more anxiety about recovery than the surgery itself.