Scoliosis is very common in adolescents, said experts from the rehabilitation department of the First Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, every summer and even after the start of the school year to the hospital’s endless stream of student patients seeking medical care. Scoliosis occurs in adolescents aged 12 to 16 years old, with an incidence of about 20/100,000, and there are about 3 million adolescent patients nationwide. Early treatment of scoliosis is very important, so early detection of abnormalities in the child’s spine has become a must for parents “homework”. From the back, the spine is supposed to be a straight line. If you see the spine bending in the direction of the left and right from behind, you have “scoliosis”, medically known as “scoliosis”. Shen Tong, director of the rehabilitation department of the First Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, said that scoliosis is caused by a variety of causes, which can be idiopathic, congenital and secondary. Among them, idiopathic scoliosis is the most common, especially “favored” by adolescents, usually by parents or teachers inadvertently found. Scoliosis in adolescents generally begins to show signs before puberty and progresses rapidly into adolescence, ending after puberty, but many patients continue to progress slowly into adulthood. Scoliosis is generally difficult to detect early, and many children are only discovered when there is an obvious deformity, a curvature of the spine, and an asymmetrical bulge in the back that appears as a “razorback”. At this time, the child’s physical appearance is significantly affected and his or her self-confidence often suffers, which is detrimental to mental health. Once scoliosis occurs, how can a child with a “curved” back grow taller? Shen Tong said, “We found in our clinical practice that many children with scoliosis have a lower height than their peers.” Many people think that skeletal problems do not affect the internal organs, but they do not. The majority of scoliosis occurs in the thoracic and lumbar segments, and severe bending can lead to thoracic rotation deformities and decreased thoracic volume, which can affect the development of the heart and lungs and lead to symptoms such as decreased activity endurance and shortness of breath. Children with severe scoliosis are at risk for paralysis and have a shorter average life expectancy than normal people. Tips on how to detect scoliosis early? Parents should be alert to the presence of scoliosis if they notice an asymmetrical posture when the child stands, unequal shoulders, an asymmetrical back when bending over, and pigmented or abnormal hair on the back. Experts introduced a simple and easy way to check: let the adolescent hands naturally down, together, and then bend 90 degrees, if there is scoliosis, the sides of the back or waist will be unequal, commonly known as “razorback deformity”. Adolescents with scoliosis may also have scapulae or rib cage kyphosis, and in severe cases, thoracic rotational deformity, manifested by asymmetric breasts on both sides, upper body tilt, and trunk shortening. In addition, decreased activity endurance, shortness of breath, and palpitations can result from decreased thoracic volume. If parents notice that their child has one or more of these symptoms, they should promptly contact a spine specialist. After taking a detailed history, the doctor will give X-rays or CT or MRI to confirm the scoliosis deformity and the degree of curvature, and then give treatment recommendations.