Scoliosis generally refers to the developmental deviation of one or more vertebrae from the midline of the back and lateral projection of the spine in some children due to congenital or acquired causes. Of these, 80-85% of scoliosis is of unknown etiology, which is known as idiopathic scoliosis, and is more common in adolescents.
Parents have misconceptions
Scoliosis is a pathological condition that is caused by a deformity of the spinal bones that deforms the structures connected to them, and can involve the spine, thorax, ribs, pelvis, or even the entire trunk. In fact, scoliosis is not a particularly rare disease, its prevalence in China is about 1 to 2 percent. The reasons for its high incidence are not only the lack of basic knowledge of the disease among the public, but also some misconceptions of the parents of the affected children.
We often see regrettable scenarios in which children with a history of several years or even decades are not diagnosed in time due to parental negligence, thus missing the best opportunity for treatment.
Many parents mistake changes in their child’s spine as a normal part of development, such as a heavy school bag or an unconscious bowing of the head due to height. Even when some parents notice abnormalities in their children, they mistakenly believe that the scoliosis will correct itself as the child grows and develops. In addition, many children find the abnormality on their own, but are too shy to inform their parents, thus delaying the condition.
In general, scoliosis affects the child’s body shape to varying degrees, and in severe cases, it can affect the child’s cardiopulmonary function and even involve the spinal cord, resulting in paraplegia. Thus, this seemingly simple spinal disorder can cause deformities in the body and even affect breathing and heartbeat.
Careful observation for early diagnosis
Due to the long-lasting physical deformity may cause psychological abnormalities in children, negative feelings of low self-esteem and autism, which may cause certain obstacles to normal social interactions of the affected children. Nowadays, under the new medical model that emphasizes the role of psychosocial factors, mental health has become a topic that cannot be ignored. While physical illnesses in children are easily cured, remedying psychological deficits can be quite tricky. Thus, the presence of a mental illness is like a small gap in a dam, which if left untreated may lead to a dam break with quite serious consequences.
Since most parents have little knowledge of the pathology of scoliosis, they often do not pay attention to their child’s scoliosis when it first occurs. However, if you can take advantage of the opportunity to look at your child’s spine when he or she is naked, such as in the shower, you will still find many clues. The following are some of the subtle changes in a child’s body during the early stages of scoliosis.
1. Both hips are unequal and the waist is asymmetrical.
2. One shoulder is significantly more prominent or “enlarged” than the other.
3. The neckline is not flat, and one shoulder is higher than the other.
4. The girl’s breasts are unevenly developed, with the left side often being larger (it should be noted that about 30% of normal women have asymmetrical breasts on both sides, which should be strictly differentiated).
Other types of scoliosis may also present with milk coffee spots of varying sizes on the trunk and abnormal hair on the back. All of these can be used as abnormal signs for early diagnosis of scoliosis. Therefore, parents should take their children to the hospital to consult a specialist as soon as the above abnormalities appear.
In fact, early diagnosis of scoliosis is not difficult. For example, a clear full-length standing x-ray of the spine can be taken at the hospital. It is important to emphasize that scoliosis is defined as a lateral curvature of the spine measured by the Cobb method in a standing ortho-x-ray, and is considered scoliosis if the angle is greater than 10°. Therefore, taking such spinal radiographs is best done not lying down. This may mask the patient’s true condition to some extent, especially in mild patients with good spinal flexibility, and the result may appear “normal”. In addition, for patients who have been treated with a brace, it is also recommended that radiographs be taken 6 hours after the brace has been removed.
Many parents have questions about the appearance of scoliosis in children: How much does it have to do with posture? In fact, poor posture does cause postural scoliosis, but to be precise, postural scoliosis is not strictly scoliosis. However, if it is maintained for a long time, it may become structural scoliosis, which cannot be corrected by changing the posture. In addition, improper weight bearing on the spine may also cause scoliosis. Therefore, in addition to providing a good educational environment for children, parents should also pay more attention to their children’s spine. For example, school-age children should pay attention to their sitting and standing posture from an early age, cultivate good habits, adjust the height of tables and chairs to the most appropriate height, and carry heavy loads on both shoulders or at the same time.
Judging the condition and reasonable treatment
Just as a small tree that is not fully formed needs to be carefully pruned, scoliosis in children needs to be treated and repaired as early as possible, and the appropriate treatment method needs to be chosen depending on the cause and degree of onset. Generally speaking, bracing and surgery are the two more effective methods. Most experts believe that bracing is appropriate for children with scoliosis between 20 and 40 degrees and with growth potential. For patients with a scoliosis angle of 40 degrees or more and whose scoliosis progression cannot be effectively controlled by bracing, with significant deformity and trunk imbalance, surgery should be performed in a timely manner to avoid delaying the disease.
Whether or not the child should be given calcium supplements along with treatment is an issue that parents should consider carefully. It is certain that calcium supplements generally do not produce any orthopedic effect and cannot treat scoliosis at its root. Therefore, parents of children with scoliosis are advised not to trust drugs and miss the best time for treatment. In addition, do not blindly believe in the popular posture correction products, which are generally only suitable for children with good physical development, but have no obvious effect on children with scoliosis. This is due to the fact that such products and scoliosis support, both in the production process and the principle are essentially different, it is impossible to play an orthopedic role. Medical braces are not only responsible for maintaining posture, but also have a greater orthopedic capacity by using the relevant mechanical principles to treat scoliosis.
In addition to providing a good educational environment for children, parents should also pay attention to small changes in the spine of their children. When a child or parent notices signs of scoliosis, the first thing to do is to go to a large hospital and consult with an experienced physician so that the diagnosis can be made as soon as possible. Since not all patients require surgical orthopedic treatment, parents should not be overly alarmed even if scoliosis is found to be a possibility. (Repost)