Any Moms Familiar with Childhood Scoliosis? Need Advise

I am a chiropractor with a pediatric and pregnancy specialty. Chiropractors have great success managing and improving adolescent scoliosis. The earlier you take action, the better the outcome. If you need a consult, call the office or find a pediatric chiropractor near you on www.icpa4kids.org.
Dr. J.
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Hi Sandra, My daughter has scoliosis and has been seeing a chiropractor who has help reduce her curve without bracing or surgery. See this website for more info: http://www.scoliosiscorrectioncenter.com/index.html

D.

Does the doctor suspect possible or more definite? My son was suspected for this and we had xrays done. It turned out fine. Then talking to my brother, he said when he was younger the doc suggested the same thing, mainly because one spot looked like it cureved over. I don;t have true experience with this but I went to school with a girl that had scoliosis. She would sometimes complain about her back bothering her but refused to wear any kind of brace and did not outwardly appear to have a problem. I guess her case was rather mild. I wish you and your daughter luck.

Hi Sandra,
I was about that age when I was diagnosed with scoliosis. I had about a 15% curvature which was not enough to wear a brace but enough that the doctors had me do daily excercises. Swimming also helps a lot too.
Good luck.

When I was 11 years old I was diagnosed with scoliosis, but my degree was more severe - about 23 degrees to start I believe, and it slowly progressed to about 28 degrees. I wore a plastic brace around my torso for several years. At first it seemed really constricting and like a huge deal, but like anything in life, children usually model their parents behavior and reactions. My parents tried to take it all in stride, and so did I. With time I adjusted and now it's barely a memory. There was some Judy Bloom book about a girl with scoliosis that a teacher got me, and it helped a whole lot (but keep in mind that the girl in the book wore a much older version of the brace that is very different than what they use now).

J. Sassack
Writer and Contributor
www.UrbanSuburbanFamily.squarespace.com

Physical therapy, by a therapist trained in treating children with orthopedic issues, may be helpful. Treatments would gentle and age-apporpriate- massage, stretching and strengthening. The PT can also collaborate with the orthopedic doc on any bracing issues. I see you are in Plainfield, which is west, right? I know the folks at Naperville Physical Therapy do a great job with adolescents. Mary Rachford, a PT, is the owner. They don't typically treat young kids, but 11 is old enough to be seen by a PT in a more typical PT setting like an outpatient clinic. Otherwise, there may be an Easter Seals out your way. If they don't see kids with scoliosis, I am sure their PT's can recommend someone in the area. Take care and best wishes!

I don't have any recent experience, but I did have scoliosis as a child and wore a back brace for several years.

If your daughter does have scoliosis, there are a range of treatments, depending on the severity: from observation for minor cases (to make sure they don't get worse), to a back brace for moderate cases, to surgery for the most severe cases.

The concern when children are diagnosed with scoliosis fairly young is that as they grow, the curvature will get worse. (If your daughter was done growing and had an 8 degree curve, it would be no big deal.)

If your daughter does end up with a back brace, it'll take some getting used to, but it's not the end of the world. They can be pretty well hidden with strategic clothing choices! I would also suggest finding a support group of other girls her age, or books that deal with young girls with scoliosis. (Deenie, by Judy Blume, was one of my favorites. I'm not sure if there are others.)

One final suggestion, be sure you and your daughter are comfortable with the orthopedist. If she does require treatment, she's going to be seeing this doctor several times a year for several years. (My doctor, Dr. Michael Shaefer at Northwestern was great...but he was old then!)

Good luck to you and your daughter.

IT sounds like the curvature was found early and I am guessing could be corrected with a brace. My sister in law didn't have any early intervention and went to the doctor with back pain etc in her early 20's and had a 35+ degree curvature. The only option at the point is a surgery with steel rods to straighten the spine. She has one hip that looks visibly higher than the other. She also had extreme back pain when she was pregnant with her children.

Just keep you appointment with your doctor. It sounds like he caught it very early and good luck. The key is to treat her early to avoid a painful surgery.

I do not have a child with scoliosis, but do have scoliosis myself, and have sought out many different modes of treatment. I am happy to share that my curve is now much less, and soon should be non-existent without any surgery. The treatment that has worked for me is Nucca chiropratic, I highly recommend Dr. Marshall Dickholtz Jr., here is his website: http://www.nuccacare.com/ I wish you the best!

My sister and I both had minor scoliosis as children. We didn't do anything about it as children because it did not affect our daily lives or hinder our ability to play in sports. Now as adults, we noticed a few "irritations" and we have both started seeing a chiropractor. It has helped tremendously! I personally would suggest seeing a chiropractor first to see if they can help. We love ours in SE WI and he deals with a lot of children. Can't hurt to get an evaluation (anything to avoid surgery in my opinion!). Let me know if you live close to WI and I will give you his #!

I too am kind of in the same position. My daughter is just turning 10 on Nov. 10th, and her pediatrician found a slight curve. Turns out she has an 8 degree upper, and a 5 degree lower curve with a 4.7 mm hip difference. Long story short I am not one to sit and wait, so I called Dr. Deutchman of Scoliosos Specialist. They use the Spinecore brace. He was soooo informative and nice. I sent him the x rays and he said she doesn't need a brace at this point. He referred me to a Chiropractor that adjusts the Atlas Orthogonal (the bone at the very top of the spine). His office is in Moorestown nj, and his name is Dr. Angelo Colavita. We went to see him for a consult, and will most likely be going for treatment. I am just waiting to see the Orthapedic dr. (as recommended by the ped), to see what tests she will do, and what she thinks should be done. I think most of the time they tell you to just sit and wait, and come back in 6 months. That is not going to be an option for me. At that point I will use all of the information given to me to decide what is best to do. Let me know aht you end up doing. I too am having a hard time finding similar stories/situations.

you might want to check out a chiropractor too. I don't know if they can do anything, but it is worth investigating. when I was young, my friend's sister was diagnosed with scoliosis and had to wear a huge back brace for many years to correct the problem.

Hi Sandra,
You have many posts that recommend a chiropractor, and i agree. I have 12 year old twins, and one of them was diagnosed with scoliosis. I take them both to a chiropractor on a regular basis, which has helped. My daughter hasn't had to go the orthopedic route at this point she is checked every 6 months. I was told it's very common at this age. Good luck!

Hi Sandra
Im 32 years old now and I found out I had scoliosis when I was 12 years old. If they catch it early your daughter will probally only need to wear a brace so the curve doesn't move anymore. I wore a brace for 4 years and I still do exercises every morning so my muscles dont hurt. I was lucky enough that I was never made fun of. It does take time to get used to the brace.

Hi Sandy,

You have every reason in the world to be concerned, but don't get panicked....Yet.

Idiopathic scoliosis is the result of a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental influences. I would strongly suggest getting your daughter scoliscore genetic tested and beginning an early stage scoliosis intervention program.

You can find more info on scoliscore and early stage scoliosis intervention at http://www.treatingscoliosis.com