In the following information, I will discuss scoliosis. I will explain what it is, how itmay occur, all the different types, early detection, and the possible treatments.
Scoliosis is defined as a side-to-side deviation from the normal frontal axis of thebody. This definition is limited since the deformity occurs in varying degrees in all threeplanes: back-front; side-to-side; top-to-bottom. Most often the spine has a curvature inthe form of an S or C shape. However, your spine does originally have some naturalcurves which gives us our shape and can also act as shock absorbers. There are acouple of ways that scoliosis may occur, but the most shocking one is that there is noevident cause.
Unfortunately, people’s spines naturally curve on their own and occurmost often in healthy people. It has been stated that in a case where no cause isfound, it is known as Idiopathic Scoliosis (http://www. hjd. edu/html/body_scoliosis.
html). It also may occur with Cerebral Palsy or may be induced by Spina Bifida. There are different types of scoliosis, the two most common are congenital andneuromuscular. Congenital scoliosis is caused by an abnormal formation of thevertebrate.
Vertebral absence, partial formation, or lack of separation can causeasymmetrical growth and can result in a deformity. Neuromuscular scoliosis occurs onpatients with a neuromuscular disease. This spinal deformity is very common and ismost often extremely severe in these patients. Also there is early onset and juvenilescoliosis which occur in the early years of a child’s life. As stated in this article,scoliosis usually develops in middle or late childhood and before puberty and thereforeis called “Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis” (http://www. hjd.
edu/html/body_scoliosis. html). Girls are more likely to get scoliosis than boys are and is far more severe. Scoliosisdoes not occur from carrying heavy things, athletic involvement, sleeping or standingpostures, or minor lower limb length inequality.
Early detection is very important. If you can detect it early enough, you may beable to alter the curve and make small adjustments to keep the spine in line with thenecessary small curves. Although scoliosis is not preventable, detection and treatmentearly on in childhood is the best way of preventing an existing problem from gettingworse. However, it is very hard to detect scoliosis. Parents should be aware of somesigns to help indicate the need for a screening.
Such signs to look for are:Prominent shoulder or shoulder bladesProminence of one side of the rib cageIf any of the above signs become evident, the child should immediately be taken to thedoctor for further evaluation, which will be helpful with early detection. The focusshould be on the appearance of the spine, as well as the function of the nerves comingout of the spinal cord (http://www. hjd. edu/html/body_scoliosis.
html). Depending on the severity of the curvature, treatments for scoliosis may vary. Bracing is one type of treatment that has had some success. It has been documentedthat the application of a Milwaukee brace can improve the juvenile curves and reducethe surgical indication for surgery to 20 percent. The worst results are seen in childrenwhose curves are greater than 30 degrees at the time of ons (Medical Topics,www. orthospine.
com). Most braces need to be worn as much as possible. If the childis able to tolerate it then 23 hours a day is ideal. If the child plays a sport they mayremove the brace to play. It does not mean the child cannot participate in a sportbecause they wear a back brace.
Almost all children effected with scoliosis can leadvery normal lives and can do all the activities they wish. It does not hamper thereability in most cases. The article states that physical therapy such as musclestrengthening, is important if a brace is to be utilized. The brace must be removed forthese exercises in order to keep the back, abdomen, and trunk strong to prevent furtherinjury (http://www. hjd.
edu/html/body_scoliosis. html). The last resort in a treatment would be surgery. Surgery can be very dangerousconsidering you’re dealing with the spine and spinal cord. Surgery means placing rodsnext to the vertebrate with a combination of hooks, screws, and wires. These make thespine straighter and allow it to fuse.
One of the many problems that are associatedwith surgery for scoliosis is that it is extremely expensive and most people cannotThere are many alternative treatments for scoliosis. Even though none of themhave been scientifically proven to help in reducing the curvature, there is no real harmin experimenting with them. Whether it is chiropractic manipulation, electricalstimulation, magnets, acupuncture, cranio-sacral massages, Reikki therapy or holisticremedies, as long as the person involved is still receiving the necessary standardtreatments and follow-up, there is nothing wrong with it. All in all, scoliosis is difficult to treat and manage for the patients. It occursmainly in adolescent women and has devastating body image issues in its presence.
Scoliosis should never become the focus of a child’s life nor anyone involved, butsupport from friends and family can help any child look past it.Congenital ScoliosisSpinal deformity in Spinal deformity in cerebral palsy (pre-op) cerebral palsy (post-op)Bibliography:
