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Realms09 · July 14th, 2004, 17:32

I was diagnosed with scoliosis during middle school and wore a Boston brace to keep it from progressing during puberty. After 10th grade I stopped growing and the scoliosis was still where it was when it was diagnosed, around 18 degrees (which is pretty minor, and due to the potential error in measurements on the x-rays, the doctor said I could call it "asymmetry of the spine" rather than scoliosis). Disclosing my scoliosis to the FAA, I acquired a second class medical just fine. I can't speak for the airlines, but if you don't actively need treatment for it, I wouldn't worry about any problems. Getting it "corrected" involves surgery during which the doc fuses steel rods to your spine to make them straight and inflexible. This is reserved for severe cases (30-40 degrees of curvature) and is not what anyone wants to do (besides the surgeon, because that's what he does for a living). So you can see, getting it corrected would make your medical situation far worse due to the loss of movement (and you'd set off the metal detector every time). Keep your abdominal and back muscles strong, and if you have stopped growing and only have minor curvature, forget that you have it and get on with living your life. As far as I know your flexibility problem is most likely not related to the scoliosis. Best of luck in your flying aspirations.

July 14th, 2004, 17:32	#17
Realms09 Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 241	Re: Would scoliosis affect my medical? I was diagnosed with scoliosis during middle school and wore a Boston brace to keep it from progressing during puberty. After 10th grade I stopped growing and the scoliosis was still where it was when it was diagnosed, around 18 degrees (which is pretty minor, and due to the potential error in measurements on the x-rays, the doctor said I could call it "asymmetry of the spine" rather than scoliosis). Disclosing my scoliosis to the FAA, I acquired a second class medical just fine. I can't speak for the airlines, but if you don't actively need treatment for it, I wouldn't worry about any problems. Getting it "corrected" involves surgery during which the doc fuses steel rods to your spine to make them straight and inflexible. This is reserved for severe cases (30-40 degrees of curvature) and is not what anyone wants to do (besides the surgeon, because that's what he does for a living). So you can see, getting it corrected would make your medical situation far worse due to the loss of movement (and you'd set off the metal detector every time). Keep your abdominal and back muscles strong, and if you have stopped growing and only have minor curvature, forget that you have it and get on with living your life. As far as I know your flexibility problem is most likely not related to the scoliosis. Best of luck in your flying aspirations.