Early Intervention is the Key

Early Intervention is the Key

When a child is diagnosed with mild scoliosis, the recommendation is all too often to "wait and watch" Or "wait and see." In my opinion this is unfortunate, not only because by the next imaging the curve has often worsened, sometimes to the point of being moderate, but also because it is while the curve is minimal and the body still growing that we can affect the most change.

Scoliometer Measuring the Degree of Curve

My own experience with this is through my son.   As a young teen, we could see that his posture was off, with one shoulder beginning to lift higher than the other.  It was suggested that it was hereditary as his father had roughly the same build, and to wait and see.  So that's what we did.  We believed it was out of our control and just went with it.  Years later, my son is left with one shoulder much higher than the other and significant jaw issues.  Had I known then what I know now, we could have made a huge difference through a specially designed movement program.  Unfortunately, he is beyond the age of making much difference with the curvature itself, but has found the stretching, strengthening and relaxation elements of my program to help with the discomfort he experiences. 



While waiting to see, there are other things can affect the progression of the curve, too, such as postural habits, sleeping habits, and sports or activities the child is involved in. So, while we are sitting back, waiting for the next set of x-rays, the child could be unintentionally and unbeknownst to anyone, assisting the progression of the curvature of their spine. This brings to mind a lovely young lady I had the pleasure of working with.  By the time she came to see me, her curve was  43 degrees and her family was looking for a last ditch effort before succumbing to surgery.  Beyond 30 degrees, not a lot can be done, but we did several sessions anyway.   This young lady was a competitive swimmer and was fearful that if her scoliosis continued to progress she would have to quit swimming.  What none of us knew at that time was that where recreational swimming is very good for scoliosis, competitive swimming - spending hours practicing and swimming laps - can flatten the thoracic area of the spine. This is now believed to push the curve to progress at a faster rate.



In short, intervening early, learning everything we can about scoliosis (the do's and don'ts, different kinds of alternative therapies, etc.) from multiple sources, and getting the child into a specialized program can make all the difference in at least stabilizing the curve, if not improving it. 

Learning Curves & Degrees

One of the most important things we can do when our child is diagnosed with scoliosis is to educate ourselves and our child.  Knowledge is power, and being empowered makes us an advocate for our child and gives them a feeling of control.

Knowing your child's degree of curvature isn't enough.  Knowing which way their spine curves and understanding  the concave side vs the convex side can make a world of difference in improving the curve.

Let's talk about your child's degree first.  When someone is diagnosed with scoliosis, they are given a degree of curvature.  The degrees fall into 3 catagories:

Mild: less than 20 degrees
Moderate: 25-40 degrees
Severe: 40+ degrees

Most often when diagnosed, a child will present with mild scoliosis.


Anatomy 101

Cervical spine: upper back and neck
Thoracic spine: mid back
Lumbar spine: lower back


Types of Curves:

C curve: the spine curves in one direction, either right or left, beginning to make the shape of the letter C. This could be a right cervical, thoracic or lumbar curve, or a left cervical, thoracic or lumbar curve.

S Curve:
This is when the spine begins to resemble the letter S, with the cervical or thoracic region curving one way and the lumbar the other.

Scoliosis is more than just a curve to one side or the other.  As it curves, the spine also rotates or twists, kind of like the stripes on a candy cane.  The more the spine curves, the more it will rotate, pulling the ribs along with it, and cause one side of the chest to become higher or change the shape of the breastbone and can even cause a hump on one side of the back.


Concave vs Convex

The side of the body the spine curves toward is considered the concave side. Imagine looking into the "C" shape much like you would looking into a cave. The muscles on this side become tight and shortened, as if the two tips of the "C" are pulling toward one another.

The convex side is the opposite side, the side the spine is curving away from. This side of the body becomes lax, lengthened and weak.

With an S curve, your child will have more than one "cave" and more than one convex area. 

Knowing these opposing sides will help with any movement program used to stablize or improve the curvature(s).