At the age of nine, Michael had a baseball injury, sending him first to a family practitioner and then to a Pediatric Ortho specialist. The original shoulder injury proved to be part of a larger problem: Scoliosis.
Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine. Some curvatures, such as Michael’s, go undetected simply because scoliosis doesn’t usually cause pain - unless the curvature is severe. In many cases, such as Michael’s - a minor case - the physician noted uneven shoulder blades during his physical exam; at its worst, scoliosis has been known to interfere with organ function.
SYMPTOMS
Maladies such as hearing and vision loss were once routinely screened in grade schools. Along with these simple screenings came one for scoliosis.
Today, concerned parents can use the same techniques for the preliminary scoliosis screening once used at our schools.
You may remember the Adam’s Forward Bend Test yourself. Have your child stand on an even surface, bending at the waist while reaching for their toes. Bend, enabling yourself to look at the back from eye level. If one side is higher than the other, or if the sides are not symmetrical, a small curvature is possible.
You can also have your child sit on a flat surface, hands placed loosely on their laps or on their hips. Look at the child from behind, looking for uneven height of shoulders or shoulder blades. Even a slight curvature ought to be noticeable. Should you have any concerns related to what you are seeing, or your child is experiencing, please do not hesitate to make an appointment with your family physician!
As children grow older, modesty assures that parents see less and less of them undressed, making spotting scoliosis almost impossible unless a point is made of doing the screenings from time to time.
A curvature may not be noticeable at first however. If you have reason to believe your child is at risk for developing scoliosis, (such as through family medical history), by all means make a habit of checking their backs –especially following a growth spurt.
Growth spurts can naturally make curvatures more pronounced and therefore easier to spot.
Once spotted, a trip to the family physician is in order. If the physician's preliminary diagnosis is scoliosis, the next step will be an x-ray. The x-ray will be taken while the patient is standing and include the entire spine – including the pelvis.
TREATMENTS
Depending upon the degree of curvature, treatment can range from watching the child through growth spurts with periodic x-rays, back braces worn at night only, back braces worn around the clock, or surgery if there is a severe curvature.
