Could Your Child Have Scoliosis?

• Studies have shown that scoliosis occurs in 3% of the US population and has an average onset from 10-20 years of age. Utilizing my clinical expertise and time in private practice, I believe that many more people actually have un-diagnosed scoliotic curvatures of the spine.

• An x-ray is necessary to measure the degree of any curvature in the spine and pain is not often associated with early onset of scoliosis in children and adolescents. Back pain often happens later in life and gets written off as “old age”, “arthritis”, and more. But what if you could fix this problem when it starts or prevent it from getting worse in the future? And how about without bracing or surgery?

• What is scoliosis? Scoliosis is defined as a curvature in the spine greater than 10 degrees in the frontal plane. So as you look at a person from behind, either a left or a right bend in the spine. Many articles and research states that scoliosis is caused by genetic factors, neuromuscular problems, spinal deformities, leg length discrepancies, and environmental factors. The environmental factors are the ones that I like to emphasize because they make up the majority. These include birth traumas/birth stress, posture, slips/falls, sports, car accidents, sleeping positions, and more.

How can you check your child at home?

1. Forward bend test: Stand behind the person you are checking and have the person bend forward at the waist. You are looking for asymmetry at the shoulder blade region. If one side appears to be higher, has a “rib hump” appearance, or has more muscular tone to it, that is a positive sign for scoliosis. This is best visualized without baggy clothing.
2. Shoulder and hip elevation: Standing behind again, visually check to see if both shoulders are completely level and look to see if both hips seem to line up horizontally. If not, this is a positive sign.
3. Pant leg/shoe check: Look to see if this person has one pant leg that drags the floor or is becoming more worn and frayed. Also, look at the bottoms of this person’s shoes, ideally you should see an even wear pattern on both shoes, if not equal, you may notice more wear on the outside, inside, front, or back of the shoe. These are both positive signs.
4. Walk test: Visualize the way your child walks. It should be smooth from foot strike to foot strike. What to watch for is a limp, and it might not be like if someone were in pain, but a slight favoring of one side. Look for a sway in the body with each step to one side. This would be a positive sign.

• What risks are associated with untreated scoliosis? Children with early onset scoliosis will tend to “grow into” a larger degree curve. This can lead to back pain, neck pain, decreased performance, and unequal muscle development. In serious cases it can affect lung, heart, and intestinal function. Cases left untreated for a longer period of time will develop premature arthritis and degeneration. Just as your car’s alignment can cause unequal wear on it’s tires, the spine functions the same way and will wear down and weaken over a period of time creating irreversible damage.

Dr. Ezell has had great success in treating curvatures of the spine using corrective chiropractic care. If you suspect that you or a loved one may have scoliosis, please call to set up an examination so that we can find the best course of action to take in your case.

Yours in optimal health,

Dr. Glenn Ezell