Scoliosis is a term used to describe abnormal curvatures of the spine. From the side, the spine forms 3 curves at the neck, midback, and lowback. When you look at the spine from the back, it should form a straight line; if there is a curve, it is called a scoliosis.
What
Causes Scoliosis?
In the majority of cases, the cause of scoliosis is “idiopathic” or unknown. There may be a hereditary component to scoliosis since it tends to run in families. In a small number of cases a more serious problem, such as a tumor or infection, may exist.
All children are born with a “C” curve in their spine. When the child is placed on his or her stomach, the secondary curve of the neck begins to develop. This position allows the baby to lift his or her head developing the curve of the neck. As the baby begins to crawl, the secondary curve in the low back begins to develop. Many of the things in which we place our newborns inhibit the development of these secondary curves. A baby’s immature spine cannot support the upright posture which jumpers, playpens and walkers place on them. All of these devices train the baby’s balance mechanism to accept the upright posture, encouraging early walking before the spine is ready to support the weight of standing. Premature standing causes a flattening of the lower back curvature. This places unbalanced pressures on the discs of the spine resulting in disc wedging and vertebral misalignments, or subluxations. The spine will tip to one side, and then the other in an attempt to compensate, creating a curvature, or scoliosis
Recent studies have suggested that scoliosis may be caused by a neurological defect.
How
Do I Know If My Child Has Scoliosis?
Chiropractors are specialists when it comes to bones, muscles, and nerves. They can detect changes in the alignment of the spine before a curvature is noticeable. Often a full spine x-ray will be taken to confirm the diagnosis and assess the severity of the curvature. Unfortunately, most cases of scoliosis are not diagnosed until the curvature has become dramatic. Early detection by a chiropractor means that any alignment problems can be taken care of before the curves become disfiguring.
As a parent some things to look for are: uneven shoe wear, poor posture and differences in hip and shoulder heights. It is a great idea to bring your child into a chiropractor for regular spinal checkups, just like you bring them to their dentist and pediatrician.
The chiropractic approach to treating scoliosis involves detecting any vertebral subluxations and correcting them with gentle chiropractic adjustments. Research has shown that chiropractic manipulative therapy has had good clinical results in scoliosis control, reduction, and correction. A report of 100 chiropractic patients revealed improvements in 84% of the patients with no worsening of the scoliosis in the other 16%.
The traditional medical treatment includes waiting, bracing and surgical intervention. These are designed to stop the progression of the curves, not correct them.