A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a Health Hot Button Workshop surrounding children, sports, injuries and other relevant health content for moms and families. This seminar opened my eyes to things I had never considered (especially with little ones) and stay tuned for even more from this workshop in the coming weeks.
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Apart from the physicals that your children will receive throughout their early years of life and each year in anticipation of sports season and the start of the school year, it is also important as parents to be informed about other possible medical conditions or injuries that your child might have. One such condition is scoliosis. My husband has an extremely mild form of scoliosis that was monitored properly and did not require additional treatment. Dr. Christopher Dewald, spine deformity surgeon at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, says to find out fast if you or your child has scoliosis before it’s too late! This is because the earlier it is detected, the easier it is to correct.
What is Scoliosis?
True scoliosis is defined as a curve of the spine that is at least 25 degrees. 75-80% of scoliosis cases occur in females. {Sorry, girls!} This is because on average, they have growth spurts at a younger age. There is also evidence that scoliosis runs in the family. The most common symptoms of scoliosis are a difference in the waistline and asymmetric shoulder blades. If one shoulder blade appears to be farther back than the other, there is a high probability of scoliosis.
Treatment
Although surgery is sometimes necessary, the most common way to treat scoliosis is to brace the spine. There are a variety of types of braces. If a patient does need surgery, it involves the use of surgical rod implementation in the spine. The newest advancement in scoliosis diagnosis and treatment is ScoliScore – a test that detects the estimated severity of the spinal curve. In order to receive a ScoliScore test, the patient must have previously been diagnosed with scoliosis. It is given to patients with a small curve of about a 10-25 degree curve in their spine and it is administered through a spit test. The test results give the doctor the ability to see if scoliosis is likely to progress.
More Information
For more info on scoliosis and ScoliScore, including an easy at-home scoliosis test, here is an interview from Dr. Christopher Dewald:
Continue to look for any signs of scoliosis as it may present itself later as children grow. The most important thing you can do is be proactive and knowledgeable about what to look for.
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