If you have been told you have scoliosis, the first thing you probably want to know is whether it can be fixed. The honest answer depends on what you mean by fixed, and some of what you will find online is written about a growing child's curve, not an adult's. For adults, the options and the realistic goals are not the same.
Quick answer: can scoliosis be fixed in adults?
Rarely in the sense of a perfectly straight spine. Often in the ways that matter more day to day: less pain, less leg pain or numbness from pinched nerves, better balance, and a curve that stops getting worse. Which of those is realistic for you depends on the size of your curve, whether it is changing, and what symptoms it causes. Non-surgical care mainly treats symptoms. Surgery can take pressure off nerves, restore balance, stabilize the spine and correct part of the curve.
What "fixed" can mean
It helps to decide which outcome you are after before you weigh any treatment, because each option is aimed at a different one:
- Less pain. The most common goal for adults, and the one most treatments can help with.
- Relief from nerve symptoms. Leg pain, numbness or weakness from nerves pinched where the curve narrows the spinal canal.
- A stable curve. One that has stopped getting worse on repeat X-rays.
- A straighter spine and better balance. Standing upright without leaning forward or to one side, and without tiring quickly.
A treatment that promises the last one without mentioning the first three is worth questioning.
Can an adult curve still change?
Yes, and that is often what decides whether treatment is needed now. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, once someone is fully grown, curves of less than 30 degrees tend to stay the same, while curves greater than 50 degrees almost always worsen slowly, by about 1 degree per year. Those figures come from studies of people whose scoliosis began in childhood or the teen years.
Adults can also develop a curve for the first time. Adult degenerative scoliosis forms as the discs and small joints of the spine wear unevenly, and it can change over time too. For how curves are measured and how size relates to treatment, see our guide to adult scoliosis treatment.
What non-surgical care can and cannot do
Non-surgical care is where most adults start, and it can make a real difference to how you feel. It is not a way to straighten a curve.
Physical therapy and exercise
Strength, flexibility and posture work can ease pain and help you stay active. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons says it has not been proven that physical therapy can help with the scoliosis itself. Research on exercise in adults is limited. In one randomized trial of adults with idiopathic scoliosis, the type that usually begins in the teen years, a program that combined targeted exercises with cognitive behavioral therapy, a form of talk therapy for coping with pain, improved day-to-day function more than general physical therapy. The difference in the curve was too small to be clinically meaningful.
Bracing
In a growing child, a brace can keep a curve from getting larger. According to the AAOS, bracing "is not expected to improve existing curvature." For an adult whose growth has finished, a brace is about support and comfort, not correction.
Injections and medication
Targeted injections and a review of your medications can calm pain coming from irritated nerves or arthritic joints in the spine. They treat the pain the curve causes, not the curve.
Monitoring
For a curve that is not causing much trouble, repeat standing X-rays over time show whether it is stable or changing. That is useful information in itself, because it tells you whether there is anything to fix.
Programs that promise to reverse a curve
Some clinics sell exercise, adjustment or brace programs as a way to reverse scoliosis. Be careful with that promise. The AAOS says chiropractic care, yoga, Pilates and acupuncture have not been shown to reduce or prevent progression of scoliosis. Any of them may still help you feel better, and that is a fair reason to use them. It is not the same as fixing the curve.
What surgery can and cannot do
Surgery is the only treatment that changes the structure of the curve. For adults it is usually aimed at specific problems rather than at a straight spine for its own sake. Depending on the curve, it can include decompression to take pressure off pinched nerves, alignment correction to restore balance, and spinal fusion to stabilize the spine when stabilization is needed.
What it usually will not do is make a scoliotic spine perfectly straight. The spine protects the spinal cord and nerves, so a surgeon straightens it only as far as is safe, and how much a curve can be corrected depends on how flexible it is. The goal is a spine that is straighter, more balanced and stable, with pressure taken off the nerves. It is major surgery with real risks, which is why it is usually kept for symptoms that non-surgical care has not controlled. You can read more about adult scoliosis surgery, including what the operation involves.
When fixing it is worth pursuing
The number on your X-ray matters less than what the curve is doing to you. These are the signs that it is worth a spine specialist's evaluation, not just another round of watching:
- Leg pain, numbness or weakness
- Walking shorter distances before you have to stop
- Difficulty standing upright, or tiring quickly from leaning
- A curve that is measurably larger on repeat X-rays
- Pain that keeps coming back despite physical therapy and other non-surgical care
If none of those apply, a stable curve with manageable pain may need nothing more than good exercise habits and occasional check-ups.
Your next step
A useful evaluation starts with standing full-length X-rays, which show the curve and your overall balance, and MRI or CT when nerve compression is a question. As our adult scoliosis care page puts it, adult scoliosis care requires more than measuring a curve on a single image.
If you already have imaging and want to know what it means for you, a free MRI review is a simple place to start. If you have been told surgery is your only option, a second opinion can help you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common patient questions about this topic.
Is scoliosis curable?
In adults, there is no treatment that reliably makes a curve disappear. What treatment can do is relieve pain and nerve symptoms, improve balance, and keep a curve from getting worse. For many adults that is what fixed ends up meaning in practice.
How do you fix scoliosis without surgery?
Non-surgical care treats the symptoms, not the curve. Physical therapy, activity changes, medication and targeted injections can ease pain and help you move better, but the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons says it has not been proven that physical therapy helps the scoliosis itself, and a brace is not expected to improve a curve that is already there.
Can exercise straighten scoliosis?
There is no reliable evidence that it can. Research in adults is limited. In one randomized trial, a program that combined targeted exercises with cognitive behavioral therapy for coping with pain improved day-to-day function more than general physical therapy, but the difference in the curve was too small to be clinically meaningful. Exercise is still worth doing for strength, posture and pain, as long as it is not sold to you as a way to reverse the curve.
Will my scoliosis get worse if I leave it alone?
It depends on the type and size of the curve. For scoliosis that began in childhood or the teen years, curves under about 30 degrees at full growth tend to stay the same, while curves over about 50 degrees almost always worsen slowly, by roughly 1 degree a year. A degenerative curve that forms in adulthood follows its own course and can worsen as discs and joints wear, so repeat X-rays are how you find out.
Can scoliosis surgery make my spine completely straight?
Usually not. The spine protects the spinal cord and nerves, so a surgeon straightens it only as far as is safe, and how much a curve can be corrected depends on how flexible it is. In adults the goals are usually to take pressure off pinched nerves, restore balance so you can stand upright, and stop the curve from getting worse, with some correction along the way.
