So mom talked to Gram and gram said she has spondylolisthesis... which seems to be what mom has in her low back.  Her upper back she has a form of scoliosis.  But it is the other one that has caused her to loose 2 inches in the last year.  So she went from being 5 feet to 4' 10". 

Recently I joked that I thought she was getting shorter.  Turns our she has.  I regret teasing her. I didn't realize she really was.