Scheuermann's Disease

Hi, my name is Kayleigh im 17 years old and I live in England. Last thursday I got diagnosed with Scheuermann's Kyphosis and my consultant told me that I have to have surgery. Apparently according to my X Rays I have stopped growing, so there is no point in wearing a back brace. My spine 3 months ago in the initial consultation was 38 degrees. When I had comparison X Rays done on thursday they found that the curve had increased to 73 degrees. Can someone please tell me what the surgery is like, and what happens after the op? I got told what they're gonna do, and that id be in hospital for 8 days, but they didnt tell me about once i got home. I have had to tell my university that I cant go for another year because of whats going to happen. I'm quite nervous, ive never been good with operations, and I know this is a big one. I gotta have an MRI scan, and ive never had one of those either!

Hi, my name is Jessica, i'm 17 years old and i was diagnosed with this disease when i was 13. I don't remember how many degrees my curve was(i know pretty dumb thing to forget) but it was enough to have surgery. Considering i was only 13, it actually wasn't that bad. The worst thing was probably all of the MRIs i had to get... but that's only because i'm claustrophobic. One thing that shocked me was that they needed a rib graft to fuse together my vertebrae. My surgery lasted 10 hrs. and i stayed in the hospital for 2 weeks. Don't worry about the pain, they give you plenty of medication. Post surgery was kinda hectic, only because you need all the rest you can get. Nausea was also in the mix of things. Dare I say... bright side?... I was 5'4 when i went in and 5'9 when i came out. Anyway, GOOD LUCK, and if you have any more questions just post. :-D

hi i"m 38 years old and i was born with schermans disease. i live in melbourne and have a 13 year old daughter who actually inherited this disease of me unfortunatly. My daughter know has been wearing a boston back brace now for nearly one year and it has been a long haul for as both. she hates wearing the brace but puts up with it as she can see what the future will hold for her if she doesnt get this awful disease fixed up now early in her life. she can see the pain i am going through with tremoundous back pain.this makes her keep going everyday with the support also of her doctor at the royal childrens hospital who is wonderful and understanding. for all those kids who have to wear this back brace be strong and keep holding on as the time will pass quickly and it will make you stonger people as adults and if you can get through this you will be able to get through anything. i am thinking of getting surgery for myself and i am very scared i just need to make the first step and my daughter is supporting me all the way so i know i will be able to do it. i needed a back brace when i was 12 years old but when the specialist showed my mother the back brace she was horrified and decided to not go through with it. everyday i wish my mother was strong enough to go through with it as maybe know i wouldnt be in so much pain. having three children has also worsened my condition and doing simple chores is sometimes very difficult for me. so lets all be strong for our kids so they can have a happy pain free life walking up nice and straight with there head held up high with full confidence to get on with there lives happily and gracefully. good luck to all you kids out there as this is only a small part of your lives that you need to endure to make the most of your lives.

Hi,
after reading your replies over here I felt I should share my story. Today I'm 22 and my Sheuerman was discovered when I was 18, quite by accident. Even though it was too late, I took up 2 years of excercise classess to correct my spine connected with the swimming pool (2ce a week 45 min of excercise and 45 min of pool)
It's a fact that I felt some pains in my back when being 14-16, but whenever I felt it I just straightened my back up. Sometimes it helped, sometimes not. I really don't know what's my curve, as I'm not from U.S. and I'm not sure if I can really spend that kind of money which it would take me to diagnose it fully (the diagnose came from a quality massage therapist my father used to go to and then by making a spinal xray).
One thing I can tell you - the pain is not really so big if you just make your child sit straight - the fact is that the spine is resting, when sitting straight! If you lean or bend you make it work hard and that's why it hurts (not just because you for example lift something). You don't have to make your son feel ockward with all those braces and stuff. Send him to the pool, make him sit straight and find some good quality excercise classess (I'm sure there are some of those here in U.S.). If this doesn't work - than it's not worth a buzz to take the braces - decide for a surgery, but give it a shot!
Oh, and one more thing - if you pat your son and cry with him whenever the pain hits him, you're surely not helping this guy. He's supposed to be a man one day, for God's sakes! Don't make a cry baby out of him! I know what I'm saying,because I've been down this road (and you've not) and I'm telling you - it's painful but it's even more painful if you feel sorry for him - it's in his head - if someone who he trusts starts crying over his fate, he feels that it's really bad (even if it isn't!). I also study psychology and I could tell you more about this mechanism, but I feel some of you might not read half of my writing. Anyway - don't hurt your kid even more than his hurt right now! He's perfectly normal! He'll be able to play soccer, baseball and have regular sex relations. Don't make a cripple out of him!

Hello,
My son is 18 and has played competitive basketball for 12 years.

He has recently been diagnosed with Scheuermann's disease and I would like to hear what kinds of useful therapies have helped you readers.
I am new to this issue and very anxious to help him before the condition worsens.

Thank you.

hi i am 27 and was diagnosed with schermans about 5 years ago i find pilates and stretches help to alleviate my back pain and keep me limber but still always take care at work so i dont over do it on the lifting or twisting i have never had an operation or been fitted with a brace as i had stopped growing by the time it was found but i have been told my curvature should not get any worse as i get older as long as i keep up with the exercise
Donna xx

Hi kayleigh my name is lydia. i am also 17 years old and i live in the US. i was diagnosed with Scheuermann's Kyphosis a little over a year ago. it is too late for me to wear a brace because i have stoped growing also. i want to get surgery because having this back problem has caused me so much pain and made me a much more self consious person. i HATE this disease. it has effected my entire life and i feel like the only way to fix it is with surgery. i know a year ago the degree wasn't enough for me to get surgery but it might be bad enough now. I almost hope it is. i have been trying to do some research on it and i would really really like to talk to someone who has actually gone through this surgery. i would like 2 talk to u about this more. maybe you could email me at _[removed]_. hopefully we could help eachother. well i hope anything you end up doing turns out good. i think it is awesome that you are going to get the surgery and i would really like to hear how it goes. thank you!

Hi
l'm 30yrs old and inherited the disease which was diagnosed when l was 13. I was told to do physio exercises twice a day until l stop growing but being a teenager l never did. I have never suffered any problems or pain apart from when l had a car accident and l'm now 24 wks pregnant and my back is killing me!!!!!!

starting to do a little homework for myself on this desease.i was 23 when i cracked a disk in my lover back.couple xrays and couple mri scans i was told i had Scheuermann's Disease.iv been fobed of for years was never offered surgery as it had hit all the lower disk by time my seconed mri scan was done.im 40 now and had 2 put up and shut up as they say.lol.the worst thing for me is my neck now.been bad for years also. but since dec 2007 iv had bad spasms and shocks and pins and needles going full length of my body.this scared me as a few times iv been on the floor with no feelings from my neck down.the only bonus was i could feel myself pinching my leg.5 hours later all came back.the doc put me on dantroline 25mgs 4 times a day.these are on top of my usual 8 x 50mg codine, 3 x amtripline 50mgs, and to finish 3 x 50mgs of diclofenic.yes i rattle and feel c**p 24 seven.the dantroline work wonders for the bottom of my spine but my neck is tenderhooks.i live in uk and exspected better help down the line.instead they have took my dla of me and are sending me for more phisio.wow fobed of again lol.to no avail. had my back twisted in past also,he said it wouldnt heal it but he tried to make it feel better,didnt work either.im still getting bad spasms as if iv had a stroke on my right hand side.good thing the pins and needles ect havnt came back since dantroline.the warning signs in my neck 1st is headache,earache being sick and dizzy.then its time to sit down lol. thanks 2 u all for the very helpfull readings.i will keep in touch as im still learning to cope with it at my age.cheers lee

hiya i av av beenn diagnosed wid this diseas at 15 nearly 16 and the doctors havent giv me nothing to help it just left me in pain tellin me to have co-codomal

I was diagnosed with Scheuermann's Disease when I was thirteen. I'm a female. The doctor asked me to wear braces but I refused to due to the fact that I don't want to be like a robot. I was always lack of confidence in front of my friends, refused to get dressed up and got heaps of naggings from my relatives, saying that my parents were being too soft. I always tried to control myself, kept reminding myself to sit straight and apparently it worked! Although the curvature is still there but it is much better than before. I've just started my university in a new place and people don't realize that i'm "hunched". I starting to gain confidence. But still, I would advise to WEAR BRACES. I'm actually quite regretful of rejecting the possible treatment when I'm still growing. I wish I would be straight, REAL straight. It's really a bad and sad experience to go through with a hunch back when you are a teenager. Parents, please be considerate with your children because we are under tremendous pressure that you will never imagine from our peers, kins and strangers every minute when we are exposed to the society! I hope everyone will recover soon and face the world with straight backs and heads held high!!! :-P

HI!
I've been diagnosed with this disease at around 14 I think. I went to the best doctors and all told me it's better not to use any braces because your muscles stop working. I've done swimming for 3 years, and that helped a lot. At the same time, I did a lot of karate, which was very bad, because it killed my knees. Now, I'm 22 and I only have pains (not so bad ones) when I sit up for a long time. The problem is that my knees hurt if I bend them to much. I've decided to do something about the pains and since the doctors were not sure what to suggest, I went to a gym were I asked the trainer to put me on exercises for back problems. The result: I now feel a million times better and healthier. The exercises focused on developing stronger inner muscles for the back, but without forcing your back in any way.
If you go to any good gym, they'll know about this problems and help you (but I cannot stress enough how important is to not force your back when training. All the exercises must work your muscles, not your bones.)
This disease has scared my life for a long time, but now it's turning around, all the exercises helped me a lot. My advice to all having this problem is to lead a healthy life, to avoid pressing or forcing your bones, and to workout as much as you can (by workout I don't mean having huge muscles, but a normal, harmonious body).
If you keep a clean mind about this problem it will stop being a problem.

hi im sarah i started with chronic back pain when i was 13 years old and was diagonsed with scheuermans when i was 14 years old . I ve tried the brace and all medication that they can give me . Im now 26 and still in as much pain as i was then some days its that bad i cant walk and have to crawl on my hands and knees , or i cant get out of bed in a morning. cant bend properly somedays walk or sit hoover iron or other things. Went to the docs cos id had enough of being in agony and not being able to do things with my children they wont do a xray cos apparantly it wont tell them anything which i think is c**p cos surely it would say if it was getting worse or if it was something else . they refarred me to a back specialist after after twelve years who was useless and made me questions the last twelve years. he says that scheuermans disese is something i got to live with and lose weight and do more exercise. can anyone help me please im in so much pain and at the end of tether with the pain and need help my docs cant do nowt neither can the specailist just something i got to live with for the rest of my life . i know that there aint no miracle cure but there must be something. plese plese help someone

Hi, I experienced back pain at 11, it was like an annoying ache between my spine and shoulder blade and lower back that made me complain whilst watching tv and I found that it affected my concentration. Luckily my mum took me to the doctors and they referred me to the hospital. When I lean forward my mum was shocked to see that my spine was an s shape instead of straight and I was given two choices a back brace till I stopped growing at 21 or exercises twice a day till 21. I took the exercises and I did them for yes, 10 years. I was also advised to walk so that my chest was the first thing that walked through the door. I was also advised to take painkillers but I chose not too and am glad I did. Anyway I am 35 now and I do thankfully have a straight spine. I have managed to work out a system that works for me now. I noticed that my back pain has a kind of regular cycle. I go to the chiropractor who after x-rays and knowledge of shermans helps to loosen everything up. So basically he cracks everything loose and I feel great, then over a three month period things start to seize up again and it affects my concentration and I get irritated, sharp back pain all over the middle of spine seizes up, neck and base and my head feels like it's nerves aren't connected to my head. Then I really know when i'm due to go to chiropractors when I get pins and needles all the way down my right arm and I can't sleep at night.
I'm quite convinced that i'll be doing this for the rest of my life, however if I did more of my muscle strength exercises that my chiropractor has given me I agree with the other person on this sight it's the muscles that need to be kept sweet and supple because they compensate and absorb what the wedge shape spine discs cause. I think I am going to take the muscle strengthening a bit more seriously after reading that actually makes good sense.

Scheurmann's Disease is a relatively common condition in which backacke
and kyphosis are associated with localised changes in the vertebral bodies.
The condition presents in adolescence and boys are more frequently
affected than girls. S.D. is probably heterogeneous(i.e. not a single
entity but a group of conditions showing similar features) but the
aetiology(cause) and pathogenesis(outcome) are a matter of debate.
Osteochrondritis of the upper and lower cartilaginous vertebral endplates
has been incriminated, but trauma is sometimes a causative factor. Som
affected persons have disproportionate limb length, others show a
familial tendency.
SSYMPTOMS, SIGNS & DIAGNOSIS .. A round shouldered posture and persistent
low grade backache are the usual presenting features. A major clinical
finding is an increase of normal kyphosis which may be diffuse or
localised. Trivial spinal malalignment often persists when the disorder
has become quiescent.
Lateral X rays of spine show anterior wedging of vertebral bodies,
usually in the lower thoracic and lumbar regions. The endplate become
irregular and sclerotic in later stages. Spinal malalignment is mainly
kyphotic but an element of scoliosis is sometimes present.