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Low back pain
Tingling
Foot numbness
Frequent nighttime urination
Pain in legs when walking/taking stairs
Feet cold
Lower back pain that makes me want to sit down
Not seeing your symptoms? No worries!
Narrowing of the canal surrounding the nerves. It can be caused by normal wear and tear of the spine or by a previous injury to the region.
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this disease:
Initial treatment involves physical therapy to strengthen and improve posture. Anti-inflammatory medicines can also be given through pills or injections. In severe cases, surgery can help stabilize the segment, free the spinal nerves, and relieve symptoms.
Reviewed By:
Ziev Moses, MD (Neurosurgery)
Dr. Moses is a board-certified neurosurgeon and assistant professor of neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School.
Tomohiro Hamahata, MD (Orthopedics)
Dr. Hamahata graduated from the Jikei University of Medical Science. After working at Asanokawa General Hospital and Kosei Chuo Hospital, he joined the Department of Orthopedics at Asakusa Hospital in April 2021, specializing in general orthopedics and joint replacement surgery.
Content updated on Feb 19, 2025
Following the Medical Content Editorial Policy
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Is Your Spine Twisting? Why Scoliosis Isn’t Slouching & Medical Next Steps
A.
Scoliosis is a structural sideways and rotating curve that does not correct by standing up straighter, diagnosed on standing X-rays when the Cobb angle is 10 degrees or more; look for uneven shoulders or hips, clothes hanging unevenly, a rib hump on forward bend, and in adults possible back or leg symptoms. Next steps depend on age, symptoms, and curve size: mild curves are monitored, growing kids with moderate curves may need bracing, and severe or progressing curves may need surgery; see a doctor for evaluation and seek urgent care for new weakness, numbness, or bladder or bowel changes, as there are several factors to consider and key details below.
References:
* Wang Z, Xia L, Liu H, Guo Z, Li C, Wang K, Lu S. Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Review of Etiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Front Pediatr. 2021 May 26;9:676101. doi: 10.3389/fped.2021.676101. PMID: 34123999; PMCID: PMC8187841.
* Kotwicki T, Durmala M. Diagnosis and Conservative Treatment of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis. J Clin Med. 2023 Apr 1;12(7):2699. doi: 10.3390/jcm12072699. PMID: 37048564; PMCID: PMC10094766.
* Bunnell D, Reichel LM, Hresko MT. Natural History of Untreated Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Literature Review. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2022 Oct 19;104(20):e90. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.21.01524. Epub 2022 Jul 25. PMID: 35878204.
* Liu Y, Jiang H, Yang S, Zeng H, Fang H, Chen L, Luo W. Consensus on Scoliosis Diagnosis and Treatment for Adolescents and Adults: An Evidence-Based Update from the International Consensus Conference on Spinal Deformity (ICCSD). Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2022 Aug 15;47(16):1173-1180. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000004381. Epub 2022 Jun 29. PMID: 35766297.
* Lafond D, Rhalmi M, Paquet N. The Role of Exercise in the Treatment of Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Narrative Review. J Clin Med. 2023 Nov 21;12(23):7270. doi: 10.3390/jcm12237270. PMID: 38068770; PMCID: PMC10707430.
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Which is the best Symptom Checker?
Ubie’s symptom checker demonstrated a Top-10 hit accuracy of 71.6%, surpassing the performance of several leading symptom checkers in the market, which averaged around 60% accuracy in similar assessments.
Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1Siebert E, Prüss H, Klingebiel R, Failli V, Einhäupl KM, Schwab JM (2009). Lumbar spinal stenosis: syndrome, diagnostics and treatment. Nature reviews. Neurology.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19578346/Webb CW, Aguirre K, Seidenberg PH (2021). Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: Diagnosis and Management. American family physician.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38648834/Melancia JL, Francisco AF, Antunes JL (2013). Spinal stenosis. Handbook of clinical neurology.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24365318/