Question
My daughter has always suffered from headaches and was diagnosed with migraines.  She just turned 18.  I took her to a chiropractor and they took x-rays of her neck.  We were informed that she has scoliosis of her neck.  I am not familiar with that.  Is this bad?  What can we expect?  Should I take her to another Dr besides the chiropractor?  I was overwhelmed, I didnt ask the questions I would have liked.  Is this hereditary?  Should I be concerned for my other child?  Is this going to get worse? Where do we go from here?  Please HELP!!

Answer
Dear Marlo,

First of all don't freak out.  Scoliosis in the neck is actually more common than you think, and may or may not be a problem....and it is not hereditary in the neck (scoliosis does have a familiar/genetic disposition when occurring in the low back).  It all really depends on the magnitude of deviation from the normal midline spinal configuration, and how much lateral deviation has occurred.  Scoliosis in itself is not a big issue unless it is progressive or severe.  The first question you need to ask is what does the scoliosis actually measure. Every chiropractor should be able to quantify the curve change with an angular measurement, and this should have been explained to you by the chiropractor who examined your daughter.  

You do not need to take her to another doctor...you will be wasting your money as they will do nothing for it.  Medical physicians don't really treat these issues unless they are so severe that surgical intervention is needed and that is very rare, especially in the neck.  Rehab exercises and traction when needed can actually correct the scoliosis, but this needs to be applied in the correct manner for maximum resolution. Spinal adjustments will absolutely help the alignment of the vertebral bodies and correct the biomechanical motions of the joints, however it will not correct the curve.  More information on how to actually make scoliosis corrections:  www.idealspine.com.

Now, your daughter will likely need some form of soft tissue work to specifically address the muscular and fascial system.  When the spine is in an abnormal configuration, the muscle will have some form of abnormal function either being too tight or contracted, spasms, or deconditioning.  Exercises and soft tissue mobilization techniques (such as:  Active Release Technique, S.A.S.T.M., Graston etc...)will greatly help these issues.

Now...you need to ask the chiropractor what his/her plan is to correct this. Any chiropractic physician will be able o adjust the spine with proficiency and improve function while lowering pain levels, but if you want the scoliosis issue corrected, the doctor needs to understand structural remodeling.  Changing a scoliotic curve requires precise knowledge of how to apply force to the spine to change the configuration.  I would recommend that you ask the chiropractor fort documentation on how they are planning to change the curve (if they say they are going to do so).  The only two techniques that I am aware of that can consistently correct improper spinal curvatures are Chiropractic Biophysics and Pettibon technique.  If the chiropractor you have has not been trained with these techniques, I would be suspect in them trying to correct the curve.

Lastly, this will likely not get progressively worse.  The abnormal configuration does place increased stress on the spinal joints and discs however, and accelerated degeneration may occur over time, but this is not likely to be sever in the next 10-15 years due to the age of your daughter, so you have some time to make informed decisions on this matter.  Discuss this all with the chiropractor you are seeing and expect logical answers to the issue.  If the chiropractor makes this out to be a severe issue, I would get a second opinion with another chiropractic physician.

Hope this helps Marlo.

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net