What is the prognosis for adults with scoliosis?
Pain in adult-onset or untreated childhood scoliosis often develops because of posture problems that cause uneven stresses on the back, hips, shoulders, necks, and legs. In one study conducted 20 years after growth had stopped, two thirds of adults who had lived with curvatures of 20 to 55 degrees reported they experienced back pain. In this study, most cases were mild, although others have reported that adults with a history of scoliosis tend to have chronic and more back pain than the general population (Everett & Patel 2007).
