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Scoliosis |
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Scoliosis
Your spine, or backbone, helps hold your body upright. Without it, you couldn't walk, run, or play sports. If you look at yourself sideways in the mirror or look at a friend from the side, you'll notice that the back isn't flat like a piece of board. Instead, it curves in and out between your neck and lower back. Despite that gentle curve, a healthy spine appears to run straight down the middle of the back. The trouble for someone with scoliosis is that the spine curves from side to side in a "C" or "S" shape or is twisted. What Is Scoliosis? The word scoliosis (say: sko-lee-oh-sus) comes from a Greek word meaning crooked. If you have scoliosis, you're not alone. About three out of every 100 people have some form of scoliosis, though for many people it's not much of a problem. For a small number of people, the curve gets worse as they grow and they may need a brace or an operation to correct it. Someone with scoliosis may have a back that curves like an "S" or a "C." This type of curve may be noticeable to others and can be uncomfortable. See the X-ray image to get an idea of what scoliosis looks like. No one knows what causes the most common type of scoliosis called idiopathic (say: ih-dee-uh-pa-thik) scoliosis. (Idiopathic is a fancy word for unknown.) Doctors do know that scoliosis can run in families. So if a parent, sister, or brother had scoliosis, you might have it, too. About the same number of girls and boys have scoliosis, but girls are more likely to need treatment. How Do People Find out If They Have Scoliosis? Sometimes scoliosis will be easily noticeable. A curved spine can cause a person's body to tilt to the left or right. And many kids with scoliosis have one shoulder blade that's higher than the other or an uneven waist with a tendency to lean to one side. These problems may be noticed when a person is trying on new clothes. If one pant leg is shorter than the other, a person might have scoliosis. It's also possible that the person does not have scoliosis, but one leg may be slightly shorter than the other. You might get examined for scoliosis at school or during a doctor visit. In the United States, about half of the states require public schools to test for scoliosis. It's an easy test called the forward-bending test, and it doesn't hurt at all. It involves bending over, with straight knees, and reaching your fingertips toward your feet or the floor. Then, a doctor or nurse will look at your back to see if your spine curves. What If I Have It? If a doctor says you have scoliosis, then the doctor and your parent can talk about whether treatment is necessary. If the doctor wants to get a better look, he or she may order X-rays of your spine. Sometimes the doctor will decide that the curve isn't serious enough to need treatment. If you do need treatment, you'll need to go to a special doctor called an orthopedist. An orthopedist (say: or-tho-pee-dist), or orthopedic surgeon, knows a lot about bones and the skeleton and knows how to treat scoliosis. The orthopedist will probably start by figuring out how severe your spine's curve is. To do this, an orthopedist looks at X-rays and measures the spine's curve in degrees, like you measure angles in math class. Someone who has a mild curve may just need regular checkups to make sure the curve isn't getting worse. Someone with a more severe curve may need to wear a brace or have an operation.
Related Site: Treatments Treatments Programs:
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