Blame it on improper posture? There are two types of scoliosis: structural and non-structural. Structural scoliosis cannot be eliminated by correcting the sitting posture, but must be detected and treated as early as possible. If you find that your child is not sitting correctly or that he/she is always crooked when standing, with his/her shoulders or hips high or low, you need to take your child to be examined to check if he/she is suffering from scoliosis. Scoliosis is a common condition among teenagers, and in most cases, parents will blame their children’s scoliosis on improper sitting posture, thinking that it can be eliminated on its own by wearing orthotics. However, experts remind that scoliosis can be categorized into structural and non-structural. The former is caused by changes in the connecting structure of the spine, which has nothing to do with improper sitting posture and cannot be corrected on its own, but must be treated early under the guidance of a doctor. Scoliosis can not be blamed on the sitting posture of the spine is known as the longitudinal “axis” of the human body, when a normal person should stand shoulders parallel to the height, the body is straight, the spine in the center. Whether standing position, or forward bending, from the back should see the spine on both sides of the waist and back contour flat and symmetrical, there is no one side higher than the other side of the phenomenon. If the shoulders are not equal, the lower back is not flat, and the spine is off-center, then scoliosis should be considered. Scoliosis, also known as scoliosis, is a type of disease that seriously affects the physical and mental health of adolescents. Scoliosis can be diagnosed when the scoliosis is greater than 10 degrees. In our clinic, we have found that many parents, when talking about their children’s scoliosis, first blame their children’s sitting posture, thinking that a backpack will be fine, which is actually not true. Scoliosis can be categorized into two main types: non-structural and structural. Non-structural scoliosis is indeed directly related to the child’s sitting posture and refers to a curvature of the spine that is not abnormal in itself, but is caused by posture and diseases in other parts of the body. In this type of scoliosis, the scoliosis can be eliminated by removing the cause (e.g., correcting the sitting posture). Structural scoliosis, however, is caused by changes in the connective structure of the spine, and cannot be corrected on its own by changing the sitting posture; it must be treated early. Structural scoliosis is more difficult to deal with and should be detected as early as possible. If parents find that their child has scoliosis, the first thing they should do is to take their child to the hospital to find out if it is a structural problem. Structural scoliosis can be categorized as congenital or idiopathic. Research has found that “adolescent idiopathic scoliosis” accounts for 80% of structural scoliosis. Structural scoliosis for which no specific cause can be found is called “idiopathic scoliosis”. This type of scoliosis can occur from infancy to adulthood, and is most common in adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18 years old, and is more common in girls than in boys, and the cause is still unknown. This deformity is often recognized around the time of puberty (10-14 years of age) and is characterized by a bulging of the spine to one side (usually the right), accompanied by a bulging of the chest and back, and a tilting of the trunk. This kind of deformity, in the light of affecting the aesthetic appearance of the child, resulting in psychological disorders; in the heavy due to the impact of thoracic development, can lead to respiratory difficulties, and ultimately cardiopulmonary failure and life-threatening. Dr. Zhan Shiqiang, chief physician and vice chairman of the Orthopedic Physicians Branch of Guangdong Provincial Physicians Association, said that congenital and idiopathic scoliosis are different in terms of symptomatic manifestations and treatment timing. “Idiopathic scoliosis occurs mostly in the thoracic spine, especially to the right side of the convexity is common, manifested as a section of the vertebrae deviated from the physiological curve of the spine. Congenital scoliosis, on the other hand, has single or multiple vertebral deformities and can occur anywhere in the spine.” Idiopathic scoliosis is more concerned with correcting the angle at which the vertebrae are deviated, while congenital scoliosis treatment focuses on restoring the patient’s balance, he said. Some patients with congenital scoliosis have the upper vertebrae curved to the left and the lower vertebrae curved to the right, which ends up balancing the spine instead and does not cause functional damage to the patient, so surgery is not required. Early diagnosis of structural scoliosis is very important and parents should pay attention to it. If you find that your child’s shoulders and pelvis (hips) are high and low when standing, one side of the scapula is bulging, the thorax is asymmetrical, or there is a long and short foot when running, you should go to the orthopedic surgery department of the hospital in a timely manner. The key to treating structural scoliosis lies in early treatment. For adolescents with a scoliosis angle of less than 40 degrees, customized braces should be used as early as possible; for children with severe scoliosis or rapid progression, surgery is currently the only effective means of treatment. Many parents have been afraid of the need for surgery for severe scoliosis, fearing that their children are too young to withstand the pain of surgery. Adolescence is the most rapidly developing stage of the disease and the best time for treatment. Once missed, future treatment will be much more difficult and less effective. “We often encounter such children in the clinic, when they come to the hospital, they already have a large angle of scoliosis, the deformity is very serious, the heart and lung function have different degrees of damage, and the development is poor. Despite the surgery, some deformities will remain; on the contrary, patients with early surgical treatment have a high rate of deformity correction, satisfactory recovery of physical appearance, which is important for the physical and mental recovery of adolescents.” The reporter learned that many children suffering from scoliosis deformity will take advantage of the summer vacation to go to the hospital for treatment. This practice is desirable, generally can take the child to the hospital before the summer vacation, to develop a diagnosis and treatment plan; serious cases in the beginning of the vacation surgery, can be completely in the child before the start of the school year to recover, to avoid dropping out of school to the child to bring another kind of harm. Don’t expand the surgery But at present, the surgical treatment of scoliosis has a tendency to be abused, and even a few months old BB is surprisingly asked to do scoliosis surgery! Zheng Qiu Jian, Director of Orthopaedic Department of Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, pointed out that scoliosis surgery, as the largest, most complex and risky orthopaedic surgery, has been expanded in primary hospitals in recent years, and patients have been forced to return to work due to non-standardized treatment. It is understood that there are several cases of non-standardized treatment of scoliosis: 1, the use of two-dimensional treatment technology has been eliminated, resulting in sequelae such as fracture, mostly in primary hospitals. 2, the timing of surgery is wrong. 2.It is the wrong choice of timing of surgery. There are hospitals that perform scoliosis internal fixation surgical treatment for congenital scoliosis babies less than one year old. “Infants and young children’s bones are soft and have no support, internal fixation can’t work, and it affects the growth of the child’s bones.” Zhan Shiqiang said, congenital scoliosis treatment starting age can not be too young, “generally more choose to operate at the age of four or five years old, the earliest should be after one year old, this time the child’s spinal canal development is stable, better tolerance of surgical anesthesia, the risk of accidents is not so high.” 3, is the expansion of treatment. In the X-ray photographs of the degree of scoliosis that is Cobb’s angle of 20 degrees to 30 degrees of mild patients, but also by some hospitals for internal fixation surgery. Zhan Shiqiang pointed out that, in fact, this part of the patient can wear a brace under the guidance of the doctor for non-surgical treatment, regular follow-up observation, once the scoliosis angle progress accelerated, only need to consider surgical treatment.