United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

My son Joshua, who has a left BPI, had his 5 year old check up the other day. The pediatrician noticed a slight scoliosis. In talking with her it could be nothing or it could be a problem. She is concerned that he is so young to have it start. She thinks we should start with a pediatric specialist for the spine and keep and eye on it. They measure the curve and see how fast it is growing. My husband wants to start back @ the chiroprator with him. Which I think is a good idea. We had to stop because it was too costly. With this problem my insurance should pay for the visits. Anyone else out there have a scoliosis problem?? How old is your child and what are you doing about it? Thanks

Hi. My daughter was also about five when a slight scoliosis was detected. This is common with this injury I have heard. We were sent to see a Pediatric Orthopedist, and had X-rays taken of her spine. We needed to keep an eye on the curve degree and ended up having it x-rayed about twice a year there for a while. Our therapist suggested stomach muscle exercises which we did every night and that seemed to greatly improve my daughter's spine. Her curve degree lessened pretty quickly. Our therapist would come to our orthopedist appts and the two actually worked together with ideas of what would help my daughter. My child is ten now and we just need to keep an eye on her scoliosis. Once you know the curve degree you'll be able to know how serious the scoliosis is and the specialist will help you from there. Sounds like you have a great Pediatrician too. Good luck! Christy

Our son was diagnosed with scoliosis about age 5 also but when he was a little older we took him to a specialist and he said it wasn't really a true scoliosis that it was a false-scoliosis because of the muscle imbalance in the shoulder and back it appears as if the child has scoliosis....He said that there is no problem with his back besides the muscle imbalance.

Sitting on a therapy ball and balancing could be helpful for helping to strengthen muscles in the torso.
T.

I agree with both replies -I think the chiro is very helpful to avoid scoliosis also- and the exercises too-
I dont have any info on the insirance and chiros sorry- doesnt it suck that sometimes they will pay for stuff after it happens but not pay for preventative stuff?

Hi Alice,

Mitchell (age 7) was diagnosed with mild scoliosis early last year. His degree of curvature was slight so his surgeon at Shriners wanted only bi-annual xrays to make sure the curvature didn't get worse. When we went back for his appointment about 8 months later, his curve was less. Guess we got lucky! Good luck with Joshua. I would suggest that you see a specialist though.

Missy

did your pediatricians notice the scoliosis ? or do we need to go to someone else to check this on a regular basis?

Hi Francine, our Pediatrician first noticed the scoliosis. She gave me the referral right away to a pediatric orthopedist. Our therapist at the time was really great though and could show me how to trace the curve of the spine. Once the therapist realized we were dealing with a slight scoliosis - she added/changed our therapy more geared towards strengthening trunk and stomach muscles along with the regular things we'd been working on.
Christy

Alice,

My daughter Cayce just turned 8 and she also started to have Scoliosis. I do take her to a chiropractor and it is amazing how they have straightned out her back. He told me she will probably need chiropractic care for the rest of life due to the compensation that she makes for her left arm. The scary part was that no medical doctor ever told me that she had a problem. I started with the chiropractor and then had her checked. About 6 months later her OT doc said lets check her for this and I told her not to bother cause it was already handled. The MD docs like to wait and then when it is bad, intervene with surgery. So I am all for chiropractic care.

Take care

Anita

Alice,

My daughter Cayce just turned 8 and she also started to have Scoliosis. I do take her to a chiropractor and it is amazing how they have straightned out her back. He told me she will probably need chiropractic care for the rest of life due to the compensation that she makes for her left arm. The scary part was that no medical doctor ever told me that she had a problem. I started with the chiropractor and then had her checked. About 6 months later her OT doc said lets check her for this and I told her not to bother cause it was already handled. The MD docs like to wait and then when it is bad, intervene with surgery. So I am all for chiropractic care.

Take care

Anita

What you find out from talking with people. My sons OT told me she had scoliosis and had to wear a brace as a teenager. She said hers was corrected by wearing the brace. So I feel much better about all of this. It definately can be corrected, just need to figure out how you are going to do it. I have heard from people on the board and well as others that chiropractors help, so that is what we will be starting. Francine I asked my pediatrician to check his back during the 5 year check up and sure enough, she was a bit surprised, he had a "slight" curve. Thanks everyone.