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Screen and measure
History, a physical exam including a forward-bend test, and an X-ray to measure the Cobb angle. You cannot manage a curve you have not measured.
Health conditions · Scoliosis
A spine that curvessideways.
Scoliosis mostly does not hurt, which is precisely the problem — it is usually spotted by eye, not by pain, and it is best caught early.
An uneven shoulder, a rib hump, a higher hip. Scoliosis is measured on a front-on film — this is the view that shows it.
What scoliosis actually is
Patient education — general information about the condition, not medical advice about your body. Only an examination can tell you what is going on with yours.
Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine, and the curves typically read as either a C-shape or an S-shape when you look at someone from behind. About 80 percent of cases are idiopathic — which is a formal way of saying nobody knows the cause. The other forms have known causes: congenital, where the vertebrae formed abnormally before birth; paralytic and myopathic, where the muscles do not work or do not work properly; and secondary, where another condition such as degeneration or osteoporosis has driven the curve.
It is most commonly found in children between 10 and 15, and it is more common in girls than boys — but adults have it too, and the adult population with scoliosis is growing. Most people with scoliosis do not have back pain from it, which is exactly why it gets missed. You look for it, rather than wait for it to announce itself.
The curve is measured with the Cobb method, on an X-ray. A curve over 10 degrees is a positive diagnosis. Over 25 to 30 degrees is considered significant. Over 45 to 50 degrees is considered severe. Those thresholds matter, because they are what drives the decision about what should be done — and a curve that is progressing is a different situation from one that is stable.
How it shows up.
Does this sound like you?
Tick what you actually feel.
Not a diagnosis, and not a test — nothing here can tell you what you have. It is a list you can take with you, because everybody forgets half of it the moment a doctor walks into the room.
0 things to mention. However many you ticked, the exam is what tells you anything.
What tends to be behind it
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Idiopathic
About 80 percent of cases. 'Idiopathic' means without a known cause, and it is as frustrating as it sounds.
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Congenital
The curve traces to vertebrae that formed abnormally before birth.
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Neuromuscular
Paralytic and myopathic curves, where the muscles supporting the spine do not work, or do not work properly.
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Secondary
A curve driven by something else — degeneration, osteoporosis or osteomalacia. More common in adults.
How care approaches it
What Dr. Meansactually does about it.
Written as aims, not outcomes — because that is all anyone can honestly promise you before they have examined you.
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Watch for progression
A stable curve and a progressing curve are managed differently. In a growing child, monitoring over time is a large part of the job.
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Chiropractic care and bracing
Care may be aimed at pain, mobility and posture. The clinic also offers an adult brace intended to relieve pain, support posture and reduce pressure. To be clear: this is management, not correction of the curve.
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Know when to refer
Significant and severe curves — and progressing curves in children — belong in front of an orthopaedic specialist. That referral is part of doing this properly.
Chiropractic care is not a cure for any condition on this page, and no honest clinic will promise you one. What Dr. Means can do is examine you, tell you plainly whether this is something chiropractic care is suited to help with, and refer you elsewhere if it isn't.
If you come in
Here is what actually happens.
Step 01
Free consultation
Call or book online and we'll sit down with you at no cost or obligation. Tell us what's going on and we'll start building the picture.
Read this part
When this is not a chiropractic problem.
Some of what looks like scoliosis is something else, and some of it is urgent. A clinic that only ever tells you it can help is not being straight with you. If any of the following is true, do not book a chiropractic appointment — get medical care.
- A curve that is visibly getting worse, especially in a child who is still growing.
- Scoliosis with numbness, weakness or changes in bowel or bladder function.
- Back pain with scoliosis in a child — worth investigating, as most childhood scoliosis does not hurt.
- Breathing difficulty with a large curve.
This page is general health information, not medical advice, and it is not a substitute for examination by a qualified provider. In an emergency call 911. See our healthcare disclaimer.
Can chiropractic care straighten my spine?
No. Care may be aimed at pain, mobility and posture, and studies have looked at chiropractic management of scoliosis, but no chiropractor can promise to straighten a curve, and you should walk out of any clinic that says otherwise.
At what age should a child be checked?
The 10-to-15 window is when idiopathic scoliosis is most commonly found. If you have noticed uneven shoulders or a rib hump on a forward bend, get it checked — it does not need to wait.
Does scoliosis always need bracing or surgery?
No. It depends on the size of the curve, whether it is progressing, and whether the person is still growing. That is why the measurement matters so much.
Can adults develop scoliosis?
Yes. Degenerative scoliosis in adults is real and the adult population with scoliosis is growing.
Not sure if this is what you have?
That is what the consultation is for — and it costs you nothing to find out. If it turns out Dr. Means is not the right person for it, he will tell you that too.