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Spinal surgeon Dr. Charles Edwards II of the Maryland Spine Center at Mercy discusses adult scoliosis and its surgical treatment.

Mercy Spine Surgeon Dr. Charles Edwards II Of The Maryland Spine Center Addresses Surgical Treatment For Adult Scoliosis On WBAL-TV11's "Woman's Doctor"

While most people know scoliosis is a problem that affects children, it also affects adults, and new research on the best treatment for adult scoliosis is showing some surprising results.

Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine that can be extremely painful.

Julia Eppler, 62, had never heard of scoliosis until she was diagnosed with it as an adult. She said it wasn't a problem at first, but years later, the pain in her spine worsened.

"It was a burning, searing kind of pain in the lowest part of my back, just above my pelvic bone," she said.

"Normally, the spine is straight with the bones stacked up on top of each other with the discs between. With scoliosis, the spine is curved, oftentimes in an S-shaped pattern," said surgeon Dr. Charles Edwards, II of the Maryland Spine Center at Mercy.

According to Dr. Edwards, a mild curvature usually doesn't pose any problems, but when the curvature is more severe it can cause grinding of the bone and pressure on the nerves in the spine.

That's what happened to Eppler.

"It was very debilitating from a standpoint of what I was able to do. I couldn't stand very long," she said.

Two recent studies compared how patients with scoliosis did on traditional treatments with patients who had surgery. Dr. Edwards contributed to both studies and said the results gave high marks for surgery.

"Those patients who underwent surgery had dramatically improved function and reduced pain, whereas those individuals who continue to undergo physical therapy, injections and medicines really had very little improvement over time and actually gradually got worse over three to five years," he said.

Eppler had corrective surgery for her scoliosis last year.

"The X-ray on the left shows the curvature of the spine in the shape of an S -- that's the scoliosis," Dr. Edwards noted. "In the X-ray on the right, we see the spine much straighter. There are the metal implants, the screws and the rods, which are holding the spine straight and are holding it still while the bones heal."

Eppler said surgery was the solution for her.

"I knew the pain that I had experienced for however many years was gone, and that pain has not come back," she said.

Mercy Medical Center has been invited by the National Institutes of Health to take part in a five-year study on adult scoliosis. To view Dr. Edwards' interview with WBAL-TV11 and for more information on the 5-year-study, visit http://www.wbaltv.com/womansdoctor/25673246/detail.html.