What is Scoliosis?

How many Judy Blume freaks are out there? If you were like me, you couldn't get enough of her books when you were a kid. Anyone remember the book, Deenie? This book was about a young girl diagnosed with scoliosis and the trials and tribulations she went through wearing her brace. This book was an eye-opener for me because I had been through the screenings at school and had been warned about this condition, but through Deenie's eyes, got to know how it felt to have scoliosis.

What exactly is scoliosis? Simply put, it's a curvature of the spine. While everyone’s spine is slightly curved, scoliosis patients have more obvious bends to the side; not in or out like with osteoporosis. While mild cases of this disease may go undetected and without symptoms, severe cases can cause significant physical problems. Scoliosis can occur at any age in childhood, so it’s important that your child gets regular screenings, even if they haven’t had a problem before.
While the root cause of most scoliosis cases isn’t known, we do know many of the risk factors for curves becoming more severe.

Some risk factors include:

• Growth. Curves in children’s spines almost always worsen during a growth spot. Pay careful attention to your child’s spine when they’re growing the most.
• Age. If your child was very young when the curve was first discovered, they are more likely to have a severe problem because their spine has more growing to do. Babies who are born with scoliosis are especially at risk.
• Placement of curve. Curves in the upper portion of the spine are more likely to become problematic and should be monitored more closely.
• Angle of curve. If a curve is more dramatic to begin with, it is also more likely to increase in severity.

The most important part of treating scoliosis is early detection. Here are some steps you can take to make sure you find the problem as soon as possible.

• School screenings. Find out if your child’s school does regular screenings. If not, talk to school administrators. Encourage them to start regular screening programs.
• Look for the signs. If no one else is checking your child for symptoms (or even if they are) look for signs that your child may have a problem. These include: uneven or elevated hips, prominent shoulder blades, uneven shoulders, and leaning to one side. You child’s stance and body should be fairly symmetrical.
• Yearly physical. Talk you your child’s doctor about checking for indications of spinal curves. This is particularly important if you’ve noticed signs on your own.

Many cases of scoliosis simply require monitoring to see if the curving gets worse. If it doesn’t, then no treatment is usually pursued. If your doctor observes an increase in the problem, they may give your child a back brace. This will help keep the curve from progressing, but shouldn’t interfere too much in your child’s life.