Scoliosis care in Clarksville for adults and kids

Scoliosis is a sideways curve of the spine, usually with some twist in the vertebrae as well. In adults, and especially when the curve comes with age-related wear in the lower back, it can bring back pain that builds gradually and tracks with activity. At Source Chiropractic in Clarksville, Dr. Jeff, Dr. Cindy and Dr. Ali examine and treat the muscle and joint side of scoliosis: the back pain, the stiffness, the muscle tension and how you move. We see adults, and we see children and teenagers: scoliosis is one of the reasons parents bring their children to our office.

A first visit is a history, an exam, and full-spine X-rays when they're clinically appropriate, and you'll hear what we found before we recommend anything. Book online or contact us.

Do chiropractors treat scoliosis in adults?

Yes. A chiropractor treats the musculoskeletal side of scoliosis: back pain, stiffness, tight or tired back muscles, and movement that has become harder. That's what we examine and treat at our office.

Adults with scoliosis mostly fall into three groups, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons: people whose curve was treated with surgery as a teenager, people whose curve was never treated when they were younger, and people with a type that develops with age, called degenerative scoliosis. Degenerative scoliosis occurs most often in the lower back and is more common after 65. The back pain that goes with it usually begins gradually and is linked with activity, and it is often accompanied by spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal that can pinch the spinal nerves. When pain travels down a leg, our sciatica page covers what can cause that.

The AANS also notes that because the curve in degenerative scoliosis is often relatively minor, surgery may only be advised when conservative care hasn't eased the pain. For most adults, then, the useful questions are where the pain is coming from and what makes it better or worse, and that's what our exam looks for.

What happens at your first visit for scoliosis?

Your first visit starts with a detailed history. You'll sit down with Dr. Jeff, Dr. Cindy or Dr. Ali and go over your health history, your symptoms, your concerns and your goals. With scoliosis, that includes the curve's own history: when it was found, what it measured, if it was braced or operated on, who is monitoring it now, and when the next check is due. If you have earlier imaging reports, bring them.

Then comes a full evaluation, with full-spine X-rays when they're clinically appropriate. The exam looks for joint restriction, muscle tension, inflammation, swelling in or around a joint, and possible irritation of a nerve, and at how those areas may be affecting you. From there we work out what may be contributing to your symptoms and what kind of care may fit. You'll hear what we found before we recommend anything, and the plan is built around your condition and your goals.

With children, treatment is always based on the child's age, size, condition and individual needs, and we treat children from newborns to age 18.

The new-patient chiropractic offer has its own terms.

What care do we use for scoliosis pain and stiffness?

If the exam points to the muscles and joints, any plan we recommend is built around that pain and stiffness and your goals, not around the curve.

Care includes the chiropractic adjustment. An adjustment is a controlled force applied to a specific joint of the spine, usually by hand, aimed at a joint that isn't moving well. Many people hear a pop, which comes from gas in the joint fluid, not from bone moving against bone.

Depending on what the exam finds, the plan may add:

• Rehab exercises to build strength and movement back up, so the work carries on between visits.
• Dry needling for tight bands and trigger points in the back muscles.
• Class IV laser therapy for muscle and joint pain and stiffness.

A licensed massage therapist also works out of our office, and we'll put you in touch when soft-tissue work fits. Care aimed at the pain should have a clear goal and a set point to check if it's working.

Can a chiropractor straighten scoliosis?

Not a structural curve. The Scoliosis Research Society says that, generally, the curves in a spine with scoliosis can't be reversed without surgery, and that a brace worn during growth aims to stop a curve getting bigger, not to cure it. A 2024 systematic review of spinal manipulation in children with idiopathic scoliosis concluded there is no evidence that it effectively reduces curve severity. So with scoliosis, the target of our care is the pain, the stiffness and how you move.

A functional curve is different. The Scoliosis Research Society describes it as positional: someone standing with one knee bent and the pelvis tilted has a curve that goes away as soon as the knee is straightened and the pelvis is held parallel to the floor. Which kind of curve you have is a question for the exam and the imaging.

What does the research show about chiropractic care for scoliosis?

• Adults. A systematic review in the journal Spine looked at non-surgical care for adult scoliosis, including bracing, physical therapy, chiropractic care and injections. It rated the evidence for chiropractic care, physical therapy and bracing at Level IV on its five-level scale, and its authors concluded that conservative care in general may be a helpful option in adult scoliosis, but evidence for this is lacking.
• Children and teenagers. The 2024 review above covered five studies with 123 children with idiopathic scoliosis. Its authors concluded that spinal manipulation may be useful for pain, though there isn't yet enough evidence to say if it works for pain or quality of life. In most of the studies, manipulation was combined with other care, such as a brace. Pain was measured in only one of the five studies, which compared pain in 50 children before and after manipulation given alongside a brace, so that finding is thin.

So the weight rests on the exam: where your pain is coming from, what changes it, and if care is helping by the point set to check. For back pain in general, spinal manipulation has been tested in far more trials, and our back pain page walks through them.

Is chiropractic care safe if you have scoliosis?

The most common side effects of spinal manipulation are short-lived. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, mild to moderate side effects such as increased pain or discomfort, stiffness or headache often occur, and most go away within 24 hours. Serious side effects, such as serious spinal or neurological problems or strokes involving arteries in the neck, have been reported. NCCIH describes them as very rare, says there are no accurate estimates of how often they happen, and notes the likelihood may be greater in people with underlying health problems.

That's why your history and paperwork are part of how we check for any reason an adjustment, or another treatment, isn't right for you before we start.

What other treatments are there for scoliosis?

Each standard option has its own job. For a mild curve in a child who's still growing, the doctor may recommend monitoring the spine with visits every few months, and in adults the AANS says X-rays are usually recommended once every five years, unless symptoms are getting progressively worse. For a moderate curve in someone still growing, a brace aims to keep the curve from getting worse, and braces work well if worn as directed while a child is still growing. The Scoliosis Research Society says exercise has a role alongside more conventional treatments like bracing, and to discuss any scoliosis-specific exercises with your doctor. If a growing child's curve keeps progressing, the doctor may recommend surgery, and spinal fusion, one type, can help straighten the curve. All surgery carries risks, and NIAMS advises talking to the surgeon about the risks and benefits. We'll go over the options that fit you at your exam.

When does a curve need a spine specialist?

A curve in a child who's still growing is the one where a specialist matters most, because the choice between watching, bracing and surgery turns on where the curve is, how severe it is, if it causes symptoms, and if the child is still growing. For children and teenagers, the doctors who treat scoliosis include orthopaedists, pediatricians and primary care providers, with physical therapists teaching strengthening. For a growing child with a curve that may progress, that referral is the right result, and we'll tell you so.

For adults, the Scoliosis Research Society doesn't recommend or refer physicians, but it lists members who may be available for a consultation in its Find a Specialist locator.

What is scoliosis?

Looked at from behind, a spine runs close to straight, from the neck through the upper and mid back to the pelvis. Scoliosis means a sideways curve of more than ten degrees, measured on a standing X-ray of the whole spine using the Cobb method, and it usually involves rotation of the vertebrae as well as the sideways bend. The Scoliosis Research Society notes that treatment usually isn't needed unless, or until, a curve reaches 25 degrees.

The type matters, because each one behaves differently:

• Idiopathic scoliosis has no known cause and is the most common form. It usually occurs in children age 11 and older, and its risk of getting worse is tied to how much growth is left.
• Congenital scoliosis comes from vertebrae that formed differently before birth.
• Neuromuscular scoliosis develops because of a disease affecting the nerves that send messages to the muscles.
• Degenerative scoliosis develops in adulthood, along with age-related changes in the spine, most often in the lower back.
• Functional scoliosis is a positional curve that can go away when the position changes. It needs to be told apart from a structural curve before anyone talks about treatment.

A structural curve has stiffness within it and doesn't go away when you change position. A functional one may. That difference changes both the assessment and the treatment, and it's the first thing worth sorting out. NIAMS, part of the National Institutes of Health, describes the types and causes of scoliosis most common in children.

How is scoliosis found and monitored?

Often a parent notices it first, or it turns up at a school screening: uneven shoulders, an uneven waist, one shoulder blade sticking out more than the other, one hip higher than the other, or a lean to one side. In the Adams forward bend test, the person bends forward while the examiner looks along the spine, and the twist becomes easier to see as a raised rib or a "rib hump" on one side. The Scoliosis Research Society calls it a very sensitive test and the most frequent screening test for scoliosis.

An X-ray is what confirms the diagnosis and measures the curve in degrees, and repeat imaging over time is how progression gets tracked. In a growing child that monitoring sits at the center of the plan. For parents, school backpacks are a separate question from scoliosis, and our backpacks page covers it.

Does scoliosis cause pain?

In children and teenagers, usually not. The Scoliosis Research Society says scoliosis usually doesn't cause pain, even when it's serious enough to need a brace, and that back pain in a teenager often comes from growing pains or muscle strain. Back pain in a child that continues for months is a reason to see a doctor, not something to pin on the curve.

When a curve is progressing and more severe, the changes in the shape of the spine can lead to back pain, and if the curve is severe, rarely, some children develop difficulty breathing. That isn't the expected course for a mild curve.

Adults are a different picture. With degenerative scoliosis, the AANS describes back pain that begins gradually and is linked with activity, and narrowing around the spinal nerves that can come with it. That pain, and the stiffness that often goes with it, is what our exam looks at.

When is back pain with scoliosis an emergency?

Most back pain with a curve isn't urgent. These are the exceptions.

Seek emergency care now (call 911 or go to an emergency room), not an appointment with us, if back pain comes with any of the following:

• Loss of bladder or bowel control, or new difficulty passing urine
• A change in the sensation of passing urine, such as not feeling the flow, or losing the sense of when the bowel is full
• Numbness in the saddle area: the inner thighs, buttocks, or around the genitals
• New sexual dysfunction, including new numbness in the genitals
• New or worsening weakness in both legs
• Severe back pain with fever, or an unexplained fever with new back pain. Either alone is enough

These can signal pressure on the nerves at the base of the spine, so please don't assume a known curve explains them.

Get a prompt medical assessment instead of starting manual care if you have:

• back pain after a fall or collision, and after even a minor injury if you have osteoporosis or are older
• a history of cancer, unexplained weight loss, or pain that is worse at night and does not ease with a change of position
• back pain in a child or teenager with a curve that has gone on for months

None of these is a reason to panic. Each one is a reason to see the right person first, and if you mention one to us, that's exactly what we'll tell you.

Book a scoliosis visit in Clarksville

If a curve is leaving your back sore, stiff or tired, or your child's curve has come with back complaints, a first visit is where we start working out what's behind it. We'll tell you what we find, including when what we find is not something we treat. If we are not able to help you with your problem or are unable to reduce your pain levels, we will make sure to give you a recommendation to another experienced provider. Book online or contact us.