Ortho Update

Well, I bit the proverbial bullet and went to the orthopedist this morning. Not my favorite thing, as I generally find orthos to be indifferent to anyone but surgical candidates and prejudiced against overweight people. But today's doctor was tolerable, which puts him in the top 1% of orthos I've met (though near the bottom of doctors in general).

The diagnosis (after an exam and several more x-rays): moderate adult scoliosis with two curves, one near the lumbar-thoracic intersection (forgive me, the man spoke more Latin than my high school teacher and I'm not sure I have all the precise terms), which explains the current issue, and one further down, which explains the other back problems. It is coupled with degenerative disk disease (meaning some of my disks are being compacted and shrinking; I knew this already) and the possibility of that bone spur (L3-L4; we knew that too), PLUS, and this is a new one for me, I have lardo (?) scoliosis, too, meaning that my upper back, the thoracic, is very, very straight, which causes extra strain, and, unrelated to the current problem but no doubt will be a problem later, decreases pulmonary function because my chest cavity is actually much narrower than it should be and so my lung capacity is lessened!

The prognosis: He spoke of pain cycles and I must be in one now where it is worse regardless of what I do and often without any obvious cause. It sounds like it's just going to be one of those constant things with flare-ups from time to time. Though it's a somewhat inaccurate term, he said I can think of it as spinal arthritis, brought on by a lifetime's grind on a structurally-incorrect spine. And I'm just going to have to accustom myself to some discomfort and constant struggle with it. Many of my problems, from hips to mid-back, can be traced to this torsion (and you should have heard him speak poetically about 2-D vs 3-D curvature!).

The treatment: For now, more PT, 3x a week for at least a month plus daily anti-inflammatories (Daypro). Long range--MRIs, maybe injections, though apparently it is in a tricky spot on the spine that doesn't respond well (I'm assuming those are steroid injections). Strengthening the back is key but not a solution. And I imagine some personal mental strengthening for dealing with chronic issues.

My response: I'm relieved that we now seem to have more of an holistic picture of what is the matter instead of bits and pieces of it. I'll keep doing my exercises, learn the new ones, keep going to WW and losing weight. So, on one hand, I'm usually optimistic about entering PT, but there is always some depression about it, especially for, what, the third time in 4.5 years. So, today, I'm kinda down, even if I like having more answers.

At least he didn't say it was all because I'm fat.