Scoliosis is described as a lateral deviation of the spine—a curved spine. Viewed from the back, your spine should look straight, there shouldn’t be any curves off to one side or another. Common symptoms from scoliosis include: back pain, muscle spasms, leg pain, neck pain, and headaches.
Scoliosis is rated by the degree of the curvature. The higher the degree, the more pronounced the scoliosis. Most scoliosis progress at a slow degree; however, there are some that progress fast – especially during growth spurts. Scoliosis tends to affect more girls/women than men, and many are genetically based. I have seen granddaughters, mothers, and grandmothers all with the same scoliosis – just at different degrees.
Without treatment, the scoliosis will become more pronounced with age. By the same token, the earlier you treat a scoliosis the less impact the scoliosis will have on your life.
When should you start looking for signs of scoliosis? Scoliosis really starts to show up in the pre-teens with growth spurts. If your child is beginning to complain of back pain, they should be evaluated by a chiropractor for scoliosis. If there is a family history of scoliosis, all your children should be checked by a chiropractor when they are pre-teens or even earlier.
A simple visual test of having your child bend over at the waist and inspecting their back to make sure it is straight is a good beginning. Look for shoulders being unlevel, hips at different heights, one shoulder blade winging, and/or their head in front of their shoulders.
How do you treat scoliosis? Chiropractors will evaluate the scoliosis and the progression of the scoliosis. This may be done visually and with some simple orthopedic tests, and it may include x-rays. For young children, x-rays may not be recommended if the scoliosis appears to be mild and responds to treatment. Chiropractic treatment consists of gentle adjustments (moving the vertebrae) back into their correct position. Dr. Zager also always gives her patients specific individual exercises to help strengthen the person’s muscles which help keep the vertebrae in place.
What if a scoliosis is left untreated? Most mild to moderate scoliosis are simply “watched” by physicians. However, if it is left untreated it will progress further over time. There are many people who if they had had their scoliosis treated early would not have had as much back or neck pain later on in life. It is much harder to treat and to completely resolve after the back has had years of being in the “wrong” position with uneven wear on the bones.
July and August are Scoliosis Screening months at Zager Chiropractic. Dr. Zager will perform courtesy scoliosis screenings for all school age children. Just contact our office to set up the screening—it takes about 15 minutes and is free of charge.