Sharon Nichols here from Idaho... Becky Sue (almost 29!) has been listing to her right side for the past 3 months. To the point of throwing her whole body balance off. She does have a nasty 'S' curve of scoliosis that has remained stable for the past 7 years, if not longer. Xrays,MRI, CATscan have revealed nothing. Ortho is sending us to Boise to a musculoskeletal specialist. We have tried some kind of muscle relaxer, did nothing. Meloxicam for pain, I am afraid of the side effects so dont give it to her. Have begun a great PT program, stretching, massaging, etc, etc. i see not much difference, with the exception of right after, have been doing cervical traction for 8-9 months now. So... is this 4th stage RS?, or is this because I am not a real therapist and i dont know what I am doing??, is this her showing me her stress of having an old lady and a new baby in the house and she wants more attention and this 'tilting' works?? Kathy, she so reminds me of Eleanor at the NWRSF Conference, but she can stand up straight most of the time. She wears pullups and I change her like a baby, lying her down on her back, legs up, stand up , sit down, lie down all she does very well, although the pain in her face is so easy to see. But when I put her in a chair, her right side is sooo stiff and I can see the pain in her face when she sits down. Even in the shower, she is so off balance that i can barely shave her armpits without her falling over! it's like the muscles on her right side are contracting to pull her in this awkward position.
Holy S#@&t what is happening to her???
thanks for all ideas, thoughts, recommendations, anything!!!!!
Hi Sharon,I take Meloxicam with no side effects and it really works, so I would start giving it to Becky Sue. I am not sure what is going on here unless it is some underlying pain issue -- but it looks like you have had the tests to rule this out. Do you remember the orientation in space theory by Susan Hanks? Usually it happens with tilting forward in an attempt to keep upright. It is treated by over correction. I will send your message to Jan Townsley for a therapist's perspective.
The leaning to one side is something I'm familiar with but not when it's accompanied by pain in sitting. I'd try the Meloxicam and see if the listing disappears once the pain is blocked. That would at least give you a place to start. The leaning may be a way to lessen the pain. If pain is the culprit, you'll need to determine where it's coming from. The MRI, Xray and CAT scan you've done should eliminate a dislocation, subluxation, stress fracture, pinched nerve, disc problems - that sort of thing. The musculoskeletal specialist sounds like a good idea.
Except for the pain, my guess would be to look at it from a neurological perspective. Scoliosis is caused by uneven muscle pull (which is regulated by the nervous system). An increase in pull to the right might indicate that the muscles on that side are being directed by the brain to contract. If the left side isn't getting the same signal she'll lean to the right. You can try to strengthen the left side while stretching the right by having her sit on a therapy ball and gently and slowly moving the ball to the side so that she has to use the muscles on her left to stay upright. This leaning to the left will also stretch the tight muscles on the right. You can use the same ball to help her stretch by lying her on her left side. You might also have her sleep on her right side (if that's possible) as the pressure on her right should help with the tightness. While these things may or may not help, they should at least help keep the muscles on the right from becoming shortened. Still, I'd try to look for the source of pain first.
Just an aside, my daughter Crystal (who has RS and will be 29 in May) leans to the left! There doesn't seem to be any pain involved, however so it may be completely different.
Please let me know if you discover a source of pain and good luck!