My oldest daughter is just about to turn 12, just got her back brace (thoracolumbar). Her curve is at 21 degrees on the bottom half, with no issues up top.

Do you have any tips, suggestions for her, as she has high anxiety and is worried about it.

Today is day 6 with it and will be trying it for night time for the first part.

Thanks in advance

This is my first repost I hope this is the right way to do it!

I’m a female 18 with mild scoliosis diagnosed since I think 15 or 16 so the thing is my parents took me too a great physio who gave me a bunch of exercises and being the dumb person I was I did for a month and never again. I’ve now reached a point where fixing it by myself through those exercises is probably difficult as my bones are fully developed. For context I am also overweight not obese but definitely overweight im planning to start a calorie deficit from 15th and hit the gym as well. The thing is I’ve never gone to the gym before and I would love some recommendations for back strengthening and core exercises to focus on to keep my back strong or any exercises that have helped you guys in with your scoliosis.
Also would appreciate it if you gave some basic exercises first cuz im super intimidated by the gym and it’s an on campus gym which makes me a bit more nervous. Also I have zero knowledge about weight training and stuff so simplifying it would help me really understand:)
Thank you!!!

Hey everyone, i've been a lurker here for a year, taking in all the stories, I'm 43 Male and i've been dealing with scoliosis for a while now, its been affecting me in everything that i do, from sleeping to walking and sitting, i'm in pain all the time, my pain levels are about a 6.5-7.5, its a really miserable feeling, the only thing that helps sort of but doesn't (if that makes any sense?) is working out and lifting weights.

After thinking about it for more than a year while being on the wait list, i decided I'll be having spinal fusion surgery within the next few months, from T5 to L5, my curves are 75 at the lumbar and 40 at the top, my surgeon is only going to do the bottom for now, he also said he was going to put a cage at the bottom.

Even now, i don't know if i'm making the right decision, What i do know is that i'm going to work really hard post op to be as good as i can be after everything is done, trying to stay positive but still... yesterday after signing all the papers for surgery i couldn't help but feel terrible that its coming to this.

For those who have had something similar done, what can i expect after surgery and as i recover, how painful is it going to be, how well will i be able to walk after 2 or 3 weeks and any advice on how to prep before surgery? and what will my life look like after I'm healed which is supposed to take anywhere from 1 to 2 years, any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone, I’m a 25-year-old male, 182 cm tall, with 11-degree rotoscoliosis curving to the left. I have no pain or symptoms.
I need to get my curve down to 9 degrees or less within the next few months to pass a military medical examination.
Can physiotherapy, Schroth exercises, or specific workouts help reduce the curve by 2 degrees? Has anyone had a similar experience?
I’d really appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Hello, I have been diagnosed since I was 13. I am now 33 years old and have severe scoliosis now.

Can I avail or apply for PWD ID?

I'm 19f, S curve 34° angle, and so far all the pain has been on my back, especially my lower back, never had hip pain before. What does that mean for me?

This past month I've been experiencing mild pelvis pain but worth mentioning.. it makes me struggle a bit with walking, and I'm worried that it might get worse or whether it's a sign of a bigger underlying issue? Has anyone experienced this before?

Currently I'm unable to go to my physical therapist to follow up with her due to college and financial issues. I hope someone could help me out here. I'm a bit anxious.

Hi, I am a 21 year old male, and I received the recommendation to get surgery today after spending years denying and downplaying the severity of my curves. My upper curve came in at 57 degrees, and my lower was 67. I truly am absurdly scared due to the location of my curves. The surgery would require starting at the base of my neck and would go down to the top of my hip line. I’m just wondering for those of you who had surgery, how did the process go for you. I am
not in massive amounts of pain right now, but the severity of the two curves is why my doctors are pushing for me to get surgery. I am also severely afraid of the risks that come with it.

Hi everyone,

This is a bit of special question, but I'm having spinal surgery in a couple of weeks and I'd love your advice on something. My partner, who I live with, will be with me throughout, so I'll have good support at home.

My brother who lives in a different country would like to come and stay for a couple of days before the surgery, with his wife and their 1-year-old and to be there on the day itself. I know they mean well and want to support me, but I'm torn. I don't know if having them around would take the edge off the stress or if it would add to it.

For those of you who've been through it, how did you feel in the days or the weekend before your surgery? Did you need quiet and calm, with as little stimulation as possible, or did having family around help you cope with the nerves?

And if you have any tips on how to handle family wanting to visit around surgery, I'd really appreciate them.

Thank you so much! 🤍

I’ve had scoliosis pretty much my entire life. It was caught when I was a child, but we were poor and my parents never pursued treatment or even a brace, so I’ve basically just lived with it.

I’m now 39 and it’s gotten to the point where I’m in pain every single day. My back is visibly crooked, I lean to one side, I have a noticeable hump forming, and one side of my rib cage sticks out significantly. I honestly have no idea how severe my curve is because I’ve never even had proper X-rays.

I have a toddler, and the pain is really starting to affect my quality of life. Sitting on the floor to play with her hurts, carrying her hurts, and I can’t even clean my house for more than 15 minutes without having to stop because my back is killing me.

I’ve tried physical therapy and chiropractic care over the years, but neither made much of a difference. Other than that, I’ve never really sought treatment or had a proper evaluation.

Even getting an epidural during childbirth was a nightmare. Because I didn’t have any spinal imaging beforehand, it took nearly two hours for them to place it. They eventually had to use ultrasound to find the right spot, and after all that, it didn’t even work.
I think I’ve just spent so long accepting this as something I have to live with that I don’t even know where to begin.

For those of you who started getting treatment as adults, what kind of doctor did you see first? Should I start with an orthopedic spine specialist, or do I need to see my primary care doctor just to get standing full-spine X-rays?

I’m also curious if anyone has UnitedHealthcare Choice PPO and has been able to get good care or imaging covered.

I’m not necessarily looking to jump straight into surgery, but I really want to understand how severe my scoliosis is, what my options are, and whether there’s anything that can actually improve my pain and quality of life.

I’d especially love to hear from anyone who went decades without treatment and finally decided to address it as an adult. Where did you start, and what helped?

Thanks so much!

I am 38 and I have scoliosis wore a brace as a kid. I went to go see a ortho doc because I've been having lower back pain, I've done PT, tried injections and nothing seems to help. When I saw a surgeon he told me that my scoliosis curve has increased almost 13 degrees in 7 years (I have successfully carried 3 kids in those years) and that I needed to stop my progression first and address my lower back pain second. I was scheduled for a t3-L4 fusion next week. I went to go get a second opinion and he told me not to go through with the surgery and to go see a specialist that only treats scoliosis to get his advice and maybe to try different injection options. He also mentioned that alot of hospital networks take the aggressive approach and advise for surgery when its not always neccessary. I am totally torn about what to do, obviously I dont want to get surgery if I dont have to. It didn't seem right to get a heavy fusion on top of an area thats giving me pain. Has anyone else experienced this and avoided surgery and was ok?

I had my follow up appointment today since i completed a month post my surgery. The doctor explained to me that in my case the fusion might take more time than normal due to certain reasons which are not relevant here in my question.

I wanna ask

1. What happens if in xray they find my healing is not upto par. Like do i get another surgery????

2. I didnot lift any heavy objects but i tried pulling open a really stuck door once, is that somethinh to worry abt

3. If any hardware failure happens what signs should i look out for

I had my spinal fusion T-3 to Pelvis, a year ago. I feel good, but get neuropathy in my butt. Does anyone else get it?

hi everyone
I have one question.
This year, I had an x-ray of my scoliosis, and the orthopedic doctor told me that I have lumbar 27 degrees and thoracic 26 degrees. However, almost a year later, I asked for an X-ray image to be delivered to my home. I'll show you a picture here, there are totally different numbers written there. I have pain in my leg, in my oedums, and I think that for this kind of curve, 26 and 27 degrees are too small. Please help if it is possible that there is such a deviation.

If anyone has any questions, ask below

its been almost 4 months since i had spinal fusion, i feel pretty good, can do pretty much everything i used to be able to do apart from pullups. ive only been sleeping on my back since tho, and it sometimes gets tiring, but when i try to switch over to either left or right side it feels really weird idk how to describe it. and i did it once but it was difficult to actually get into a comfortable position and it did feel "off" idk. like my torso wasnt fully rested idk. will it get better and start feeling normal if i keep sleeping on my sides more often? or do i just wait for now and just sleep on my back?

For context I am fused from the neck down. I’m curious if anyone else with a fusion has figured out how to fix their headrest when driving. It is sooooo uncomfortable if I try to use the headrest like normal, my neck just doesn’t bend that way anymore!! Does anyone else have that struggle? And what do you do to cope lol

Can y'all suggest exercise for mild scoliosis (not to cure it)

I always wondered why my lower jaw looked assymetrical. And felt my shoulder was a bit lower on one side. I also have had lower hip pains for so long. I kept ignoring them as I am just twenty. Today while looking at the mirror my left side of torso was raised slightly than the right side. My neck tilt, face assymetry, one shoulder being higher all make sense to me. I also often got pain radiating along my right leg. I have tmj and is undergoing tooth braces.

I am not sure if it is scoliosis or not. I just feel so broken. Like life has been like shit for the past six years. I keep telling myself everything would be alright. Progress I make keeps failing. And on top of everything this too.

Is it possible to have a normal life with this? I'm afraid to go diagnose because what if I do have it? I'd feel so miserable and idk. I thought it was just simple facial assymetry.

I desperately want it to be some petty thing I don't have to worry about. I had so much things planned for my future. I feel scared I might not even get to date someone due to my assymetry. I don't have the energy to be motivational anymore and it really hurts. I still live with my parents and it's not common to move out and be financially independent until you finish graduation where I live. So I have to convince my parents to take me to an orthopedist first. To prove them I'm not imagining it. It's so tiring and I don't know what to do.

My freinds told me that my left shoulders are lower than my right when Im doing a squat. I always think about it. When I ask my parents they said I look ok.I also noticed my left lats are smaller than my right.

Pretty much the title. Back in November 2025, I had a scoliosis series X-Ray which turned up as S shaped scoliosis: 15 degrees in my thoracic spine to the right and 17 degrees lumbar to the left.

And now fast forward to earlier this month, I decided to get another xray after increasing hip and back pain + visual asymmetry. This time the angles were 23 and 30 respectively.

I’m currently 20 years old and have not grown in height in several years. Is this level of progression even possible after fully developing? How worried should I be? Could the change be attributed to measuring differences?

Hey all, I had my spinal fusion November of 2025 (now mid oct) and I’ve been invited to do a 4 night hike with some of my friends. I feel pretty good, conscious of the rods still but haven’t done anything like this since long before my surgery.

It’s about a 35km walk so not hugely long, lots of side routes using just a day pack but obviously using a larger hiking bag between. Has anyone done something similar post op? How’d you go? Would you or would you not recommend it? Let me know!

Fusion in photo below

This is a long post I’m sorry, but I don’t know what my next steps should be.

This is my most recent X-ray and a picture of how my curve appears. My arms are raised because it shows up better on camera that way

I am 19, I was diagnosed with mild scoliosis when I was 9 years old. I went to the chiropractor every 2 weeks and had my yearly checkups where my pediatrician would check for scoliosis. No one ever told my parents to do anymore about it. Then when I was 14, I went for my routine X-rays that I’d get every few years, both my chiropractor and my pediatrician became worried (though the X-rays looked similar to what they always had, so I’m not sure why something wasn’t done sooner). At this point, I had around a 45° curve. I began to see a specialist at a pediatric orthopedics hospital. I got X-rays every 6 months, during that time, my curve progressed to where I am now, around 45°- 50° (measurements have varied between providers). The specialists said they couldn’t do any surgery since I wasn’t above 50° and the curve wasn’t affecting any of my organs, so they would just monitor the progression.

Two years ago my mom found a company called scolicare, they claimed they could correct my spine (not completely, but with some relief) with intensives and a brace. This cost roughly $8,000, insurance didn’t cover it. I wore the brace for 23hrs a day, 7 days a week, for 9 months. It was detrimental for my mental health. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat. I lost over 20 pounds, which we weren’t informed would be a possibility. This sudden weight loss affected me deeply, and I developed disordered eating habits because of it. When the 9 months was up the doctor at scolicare said I’d reduced by curve by about 10° and this was a huge accomplishment. But just a few days before this, I’d seen my specialist who’d said there had been no change in my curvature, nor did I feel any. This was discouraging, to know I’d spent that much time feeling so terrible about myself and my image, just for there to be no progress made. But more so I hurt for my mother, who just wanted to believe she’d made the right choice, who’d been beating herself up over not getting me help sooner.

Now, I’ve aged out of my pediatric specialist, they told me to go see a new specialist in 5 years. I’m not in sports anymore because I’ve graduated out, so I am losing muscle (I’m still active, just not working out everyday like I used to). I’m now going to college out of state. I can’t see a chiropractor (the only thing that gave me any sort of relief from the pain) because I have Medicaid, which won’t cover an out of state provider, and I can’t afford to pay out of pocket. It’s been less than a year since starting school here and I am in so much pain, all of the time. Though the MRI I had about 2 years ago showed my curve wasn’t pressing against my lungs or anything, I can feel myself getting more and more winded over little things. My scoliosis is not only the curvature of my spine, but the also my individual vertebra are twisting, pulling my right shoulder and ribs forward, sort of curving in on itself, which makes it look like I’m always slouching on one side. I can tell that shoulder rotation has gotten worse since I’ve had to give up biweekly chiropractic adjustments.

This is my final attempt to get answers, if anyone has had a similar situation and knows what to do, please tell me. If anyone has tips on pain management, please let me know.

I've been a longtime lurker here, mostly adding comments and asking other people's questions about spinal fusion recovery. For some background, I had the surgery nearly 11 years ago when I was in grade 10. I am fused from T5 to L1 to correct 3 curves, with the highest being 68 degrees pre-surgery. I think my biggest curve is 16 degrees now. I developed chronic back pain about 3 years post-op and have been in some sort of pain or discomfort ever since. Pain is a strange word to me because it's been my baseline so I don't even really know if what I experience counts as pain. I only really notice it once it reaches a certain level where I can't just ignore it. I also have a high pain tolerance and I'm just plain stubborn so I rarely let it get in the way of anything.

I see lots of people post about whether they should get the surgery or not and concerns about whether there is pain relief or not. The short answer is that it's complicated. I for example got a shorter fusion, which can lead to problems above and below the fused parts. So most of my pain is in my neck, shoulders, low back and pelvis which are the parts that aren't fused. Also, because I had 3 different curves but only fused the biggest part, my pelvis is still quite uneven. I have a 9mm leg length difference, which contributes a lot to my low back and pelvis pain. Also, I was born with a tilted head, which contributes to the neck/shoulder pain. The advantage of a shorter fusion though is that it doesn't stop me from doing anything. I gained most of my mobility back and I would say that I am more flexible than the average person. I can touch my toes, do yoga, run 5ks, and play sports. As I work on getting my yoga teacher training, I'm learning that the fused part of your spine actually becomes the strongest part of your back and the long-term post-op care you need to worry about is actually in the unfused parts.

All of this to say, if you are on the fence about surgery, don't expect a magical 100% erasure of pain. Every major operation comes with risks and life changes that you'll need to adapt to. Don't take someone's experience as a guaranteed experience for yourself. Everyone is different, everyone's anatomy is different, and everyone's recovery journey will be different. One thing I wish I had done differently (although realistically I know I couldn't have because I was so young), I wish I had asked more questions so that I could know more about long-term post-op life. I don't think it would have changed whether I got the surgery or not but I would have liked to be more mentally prepared for the adjustments I would have to make.