Scoliosis Surgery - Upper Back Pain Is Not Due To Scoliosis Surgery
There is no link between pain in the region of the upper back and scoliosis surgery always. Those who suffer with scoliosis may not always require surgery nor is back pain a symptom of this problem always. This is a condition where the spine has an unnatural curvature which is over ten degrees and is a congenital condition that is present at the time of birth and is caused by vertebral anomalies. There are sub classifications of scoliosis which occur at different stages in life like infantile, juvenile, adolescent and adult scoliosis. This is also a secondary symptom of cerebral palsy or muscular atrophy.
Some common symptoms of scoliosis
Some of the symptoms of scoliosis which are quite common are one side of the rib cage could appear higher than the other, the tilting of the body to one side, shoulders are at uneven height, one leg may be longer than the other, or in women the asymmetric size or location of the breast. Sometimes surgery is required for this problem or for the pain, however, pain is not always associated with or a typical symptom of scoliosis. In case a child or young person who has scoliosis also has sever back pain, the doctor who is taking care of him or her would have to conduct some tests to see if there is some other underlying problem too. Lower back pain in youngsters may not be a symptom associated with scoliosis, but if untreated and if it appears in adults it could be due to scoliosis. So an adult with a similar problem to a child may require surgery to relieve the pain.
The reasons for conducting scoliosis surgery
Normally doctors prefer not to indulge in surgery for adolescents or children who suffer from scoliosis. However, if the problem is causing them problems with breathing, incessant pain, or if they appear cosmetically gross, then the doctors would resort to scoliosis surgery. Surgery is also required for patients who have spina bifida or cerebral palsy.
The scoliosis surgery that is done most often for upper back pain, is with instrumentation for spinal fusion. For this surgery, a bone from a donor is harvested in the patients body in some other part and then grafted to the vertebrae. With this the vertebral column turns rigid and forms one solid mass of bone. Thus preventing the scoliosis to become worse and prevents the curvature from increasing.