What Every Parent Should Know About Their Child and Scoliosis!

Scoliosis is a much more common problem than you may think, since it affects about 5 in every 1000 children born in the United States. Scoliosis is a medical condition in which the spine curves abnormally and affects girls much more often than boys. Generally the spine twists to the side with some of the vertebra that make up the spinal column being out of proportion or misaligned, this condition is generally hereditary and may be seen in children with parents who had scoliosis, children with bone disorders or children who were just unlucky to have this disease. Many parents are unaware that their children may have this disease and as such, the condition goes untreated until it becomes obvious and requires drastic action.

Scoliosis often develops during childhood but can be fixed naturally by the body; hence this disease generally only affects about 4 percent of adults in the population. Most times the cause of scoliosis is unknown; this is termed idiopathic in medical jargon. A few types of scoliosis are causes by structural and nonstructural effects leading to them being called structural and non structural scoliosis respectively.

The nonstructural type of scoliosis is most often a temporary condition which results due to another problem in the body that causes the spine to curve (this can happen during appendicitis). The structural scoliosis is caused by a curvature in the spine which is permanent and was not caused by another source but occurred due to a birth defect, illness, a disorder of the central nervous system or connective tissue or some other disease.

In many instances, scoliosis is not observed by parents since the effects of the disease as well as the symptoms are internal. Only when the disease gets progressively worse to the point of pain, growth deficiency, or a tilt in the alignment of the body do most parents recognize that something is wrong with their child.

You can alleviate this problem by having your child screened for scoliosis the next time that they visit the doctor or health care professional. They will determine if the child has scoliosis and which treatment options would be right for them. Generally this is determined by the degree of curvature of the spine, the age of the child and the type of scoliosis. There are two types of treatment for non-temporary scoliosis, a brace or corrective surgery.

Most parents do not realize that they should begin checking any child over the age of 6 for scoliosis, they should be observant and aware to determine if their child has any of the tell tale signs of this disease. This includes back pain, difficulty walking and keeping balance, slanting of the shoulders and clothes not fitting how they are supposed to. You can get your child diagnosed early and help them avoid the expensive, time consuming and dangerous surgeries later by taking action now, you child will thank you for it later.

References
1. http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/conditions/scoliosis.html
2. http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?Id=1063
3. http://stanford.wellsphere.com/parenting-article/how-to-help-your-child-with-scoliosis/199926