Scoliosis and Your Child

Your child has poor posture. When he takes his shirt off, you've noticed he has one shoulder higher than the other. The muscles may be overdeveloped on one side of his back. His ribs look like a "hump" on one side. What do you do?

I am a 56 year old woman whose scoliosis was not caught early and treated. As a result, I developed a 75 per cent spinal curve and had to undergo nineteen hours of surgery two years ago in order to protect my organ function. My spinal curve was corrected to 22% and now I suffer severe pain and mobility difficulties.

Also I had a kyphotic lumbar curve that had to be corrected in order to facilitate the hardware placement. I have two rods and my spine is fused all the way from the thoracic area down. I'm making it one of my missions to educate parents about the importance of watching your child's spine and treating scoliosis.

If your child has been screened for scoliosis and it has been recommended they have a followup, you should know how important it is that you don't ignore it. While it's true that sometimes a school will refer students with a very slight curve, it's better to be safe than sorry. If the curve is below 50%, it may never require treatment, but it's best to continue with a yearly checkup. If the curve is 50% or above, it should definitely be treated. Once the curvature reaches that point it has a tendency to continue getting worse. The conventional options are:

1. Observation
2. Physiotherapy
3. Bracing or casting
4. Surgery

I do have a niece whose scoliosis was caught and treated early and regularly through chiropractic methods. She is now 26 and her curve is still under 50%. Depending on the location, the twisting of the spine that occurs by the time the curve reaches over 70 degrees is likely to cause the ribs to press against the lungs, restrict breathing, and reduce oxygen levels. One study concluded that almost two-thirds of patients with curves of 90 degrees and under had less than 80% of normal lung capacity. The distortions can also affect the heart and cause dangerous changes.

My parents had a neighbor with extreme severe scoliosis who developed both severe breathing difficulty and congestive heart failure as a result. She lived into her 80s but she was in terrible pain and her suffering was almost unbearable to watch. Mortality rate is seldom affected by scoliosis unless the curve is over 100%. But you do not want your loved one to suffer like this. As parents you should know that your adolescent with scoliosis is probably already feeling "different" from his peers and suffering a poor body image.

This in itself is a good reason to seek treatment. This feeling of course can continue through treatment as there may be a brace or even surgery needed. Some of the time I feel a bit like a weird robot half the time myself, kind of like the Eiffel Tower or the Tingler has been attached back there. ..but at least I'm a grownup and I know how to seek out other people with this going on. Make sure your child has others to relate to who are going through the same thing. Don't yell at him to stand up straight, let a professional help him with his posture. Use the Internet! There are many resources. Here are a few of them:

http://www.scoliosis.org/
http://www.scoliosislife.net
http://www.spineuniverse.com

Remember to be sensitive to your adolescent's feelings and try not to just nag him regarding his posture. Take him to a physical therapist and let the therapist work with him instead.

I wish all of my readers best of luck with the treatment of your or your child's scoliosis. The earlier it is caught and treated the better his quality of life will be!