Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine that usually shows up (if it's going to) during adolescence... and is more common than people may realize.

The condition is most likely to appear between the ages of 10 and 15, when a child's body seems to be growing "every which way." It affects about one out of ten adolescents to some degree.

While very mild cases occur at about the same rate in both girls and boys, girls are about eight times more likely to develop more severe cases.

SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES
In scoliosis, as the spine grows, it gradually rotates (twists) on its own axis. This rotation slowly pulls the rib cage around so that, in the back, one side of the rib cage becomes higher and sticks out farther than the other.

Also, the ribs on the inward (concave) side of the spinal curve are gathered together, while those on the outward (convex) side are spread apart.

This distortion of the rib cage can restrict the lungs, causing breathing problems and possibly heart disease and incapacitating back pain later on. Research shows that, on the average, adults with advanced (untreated) scoliosis tend to retire earlier and die younger than the general population.

EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
Therefore, it's important that scoliosis be identified early, because early, intensive treatment gives the best chance of slowing or halting the progressive curvature by coaxing the still- growing spine along a straighter path.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
An adolescent with spinal curvature may exhibit some of the following:

• Child may appear to lean to one side.
• Even when the child stands as straight as possible, the spine may still not be straight.
• One shoulder blade may be much more prominent.
• One shoulder may be higher.
• One hip may be higher or more prominent.
• Viewed from the back, the rib cage may appear to stick out or form a hump on one side of the spine.
• When the arms are hanging loosely at the sides, there may be more space between the arm and body on one side.
• Other clues are: repeated tilting of the head to one side, uneven hems and waistbands, uneven bra straps, one pant leg hem riding higher than the other.

HOME-STYLE SCOLIOSIS EXAM
Here's an easy, but meaningful test you can give your youngster at home:

• Youngster dressed in underwear or swim trunks.
• Ask the child to bend forward allowing the arms to hang loosely toward the floor with palms of the hands touching each other.
• Then, when viewed by the parents, any sideways curve of the spine or any rib protrusions are often more visible.
• Look for a hump in the rib area.
• Look for a hump in the lower back area.

DOCTOR'S EXAM BEST
Parents who feel unsure of doing a home-style exam or who even slightly suspect there may be something wrong with their child's spinal development should take the child to a chiropractor for a thorough spinal examination without delay. Scoliosis can develop rather rapidly in an otherwise perfectly healthy child.

Since a tendency toward scoliosis often runs in families, it's important that when one child is diagnosed, all other growing children in the family be examined, also, Normal spines have normal curves that produce a slight rounding in the shoulder area and an inward curve of the lower back But in scoliosis, the spine also curves laterally (sideways). It may resemble a letter "S" or a long letter "C," depending on the number and types of curves involved.


Copyright © 2010 Health Star, Inc