Does scoliosis cause pain? is scoliosis painful, or does it depend on the severity?

It depends: Most scoliosis in adolescents is not associated with pain. However, as curves become more severe, or more degenerative, particularly in adults they can cause pain. If we see a young person with mild scoliosis but severe pain, we will often get an MRI to look for other potential causes of their pain. Thank you for your question.

Idiopathic scoliosis: Idiopathic (spontaneous without a cause) scoliosis is not a painful condition. Back pain in scoliosis is similar to that of people with a straight spine unless lumbar curves exceed 30-50 degrees and thoracic curves exceed 50-70 degrees. Curve progression occurs with aging by about .5 degree per year. It is not likely to "compress organs" or cause breathing, heart or neurologic probs unless severe.