Effective Treatments for Childhood Scoliosis

There are different severity levels and types of scoliosis, so treatment plans need to be customized to address the specifics of a patient's condition. Scoliosis treatment for children should be proactive and work towards preventing progression. Scoliosis can be highly treatable, particularly with early diagnosis.

Scoliosis is most commonly diagnosed in children, but the condition can affect all ages. The most important thing about childhood scoliosis treatment is that it's proactive; as a progressive condition triggered by growth, timing is key.

Childhood scoliosis should always be taken seriously.

Age Groups Affected by Scoliosis

Scoliosis is the leading spinal condition among school-aged children, and while mandatory school screening used to occur across the United States, this is no longer the case, making it more important than ever before for parents and/or caregivers to know the condition's early signs.

Being able to recognize the condition's early signs can lead to early detection and intervention, and this is associated with treatment success.

Scoliosis can affect all ages. Babies can be born with congenital scoliosis, infantile scoliosis involving infants between 6 months and 3 years old, early onset juvenile scoliosis (3-10), and the condition's most prevalent type: adolescent idiopathic scoliosis diagnosed between the ages of 10 and reaching skeletal maturity.

Once skeletal maturity has been reached and growth has stopped, adult scoliosis is diagnosed and can involve idiopathic scoliosis, degenerative scoliosis, and neuromuscular scoliosis.

As a progressive condition triggered by growth, children are the most at risk for continued and rapid progression, particularly adolescents going through the rapid and unpredictable growth spurts of puberty.

Working towards preventing progression is the goal of childhood scoliosis treatment, and while there are never treatment guarantees, with early detection and intervention, there are fewer limits to what non surgical treatment can achieve.

So let's talk about some key characteristics of the different types of childhood scoliosis, including symptoms and treatment needs.

Congenital Scoliosis

Congenital scoliosis affects babies born with the condition; it's a rare type affecting approximately 1 in 10,000.

Congenital scoliosis is caused by a malformed spine that develops in utero, and common malformations can include the failure of vertebral bodies to form into distinct and separate bones, instead becoming fused together, and/or vertebrae forming more triangular in shape, than healthy rectangular vertebral bodies.

A spine that's malformed is one that can't develop healthy curves and a straight aligned spine.

Congenital scoliosis patients have to be monitored comprehensively because they often present with additional congenital abnormalities.

As a child grows, the condition can become more apparent, and very young children with scoliosis need to be monitored closely.

Treatment plans need to be modified to address the unique challenge of patient age and are shaped around key variables such as condition severity and bone maturity.

Infantile Idiopathic Scoliosis

Infantile idiopathic scoliosis is diagnosed in infants between the age of 6 months and 3 years of age.

Idiopathic scoliosis has no known cause, and when it's diagnosed in infants with no prior history, this type can progress with growth, or it can resolve on its own.

The reality is there is no way of knowing which cases will progress, and which won't, so it's always good to be proactive and work towards prevention: preventing progression and increasing condition severity.

Progression means the size of the unnatural spinal curve is increasing, as are the condition's effects, and treatment options commonly include close monitoring through X-ray imaging to observe how the spine is responding to growth and/or treatment.

A measurement known as Cobb angle will determine severity, and comparing X-ray images over time can indicate a patient's rate of progression.

Most children with scoliosis have poor posture such as uneven shoulders and hips, and ranging from mild scoliosis to moderate scoliosis, severe and very severe scoliosis, changes can be subtle or overt.

Early Onset Juvenile Scoliosis

Early Onset juvenile scoliosis is diagnosed between the ages of 3 and 10, and with this age group, I can often make a big impact with treatment, particularly if it's diagnosed and treated prior to a child's first pubescent growth spurt.

A child's body can be highly responsive to scoliosis treatment, and scoliosis specialists who start treatment early before progression has occurred are treating a spine that's likely to be more flexible and responsive to different treatment disciplines such as physical therapy and corrective bracing.

Common symptoms can include postural changes and disruptions to movement, coordination, and balance.

Scoliosis treatment in child doesn't commonly need pain management as the condition doesn't become a compressive condition until skeletal maturity has been reached; this can be a barrier to early detection.

Adolescent Scoliosis

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is the most prevalent type of scoliosis overall and is diagnosed between early adolescence and reaching skeletal maturity.

Again, while the condition has no known cause, we know it's growth that makes it progress, and adolescents are the most at risk for rapid progression due to the rapid and unpredictable growth spurts of puberty.

Adolescent scoliosis treatment in child has to be proactive to counteract the constant progressive trigger of growth occurring.

If conditions progress into the severe classification and/or are atypical, spinal fusion surgery is commonly recommended as part of a traditional treatment response, but the reality is that many children don't need scoliosis surgery.

Adolescent scoliosis is diagnosed through a physical exam and X-ray results that confirm a rotational component, making scoliosis 3-dimensional, and the best way to treat scoliosis in adolescents and young adults is proactively.

In addition to uneven shoulders and hips, the development of a rib cage arch, differing arm and leg lengths, and changes to movement are common.

This condition type can be highly responsive to conservative chiropractic-centered treatment that combines chiropractic care, physical therapy, corrective bracing, and rehabilitation.

The sooner childhood scoliosis is diagnosed and treated, the more non surgical treatment options can achieve.

Avoiding Spinal Fusion Surgery

The biggest benefit to diagnosing scoliosis while it's a mild curve is that it's more responsive and simpler to treat.

The more severe scoliosis becomes, the more noticeable its effects are going to be, and the more difficult it can be to treat.

Progression makes the spine increasingly rigid and less responsive, hence the benefit of starting treatment early.

A rigid spine is also one that can't perform key therapeutic exercises as part of treatment.

In cases where spinal fusion surgery is recommended, a child's spine can respond in different ways based on a number of key factors, but spinal surgery is always invasive and risky, and the procedure itself comes with the risk of infection, nerve damage, excessive blood loss, and adverse reaction to hardware used.

Spinal fusion surgery for childhood scoliosis involves identifying the curve's most-tilted vertebrae and fusing them into one solid bone to prevent further progression; this commonly involves the removal of intervertebral discs that sit between adjacent vertebral bodies to be fused.

Metal rods are attached to the spine to hold it in a straighter alignment.

A spine that's fused is fused for life, and it can be less flexible with a reduced range of motion, and in addition, a fused spine is weaker and more vulnerable to injury.

While there are different types of scoliosis surgery, such as vertebral body tethering that accounts for growth and involves less muscle cutting, healthy teens diagnosed early and treated early can experience treatment success without facing the potential risks, side effects, and complications of spine surgeries.

Conclusion

Scoliosis treatment for children should be proactive so it can counteract the progression that can occur as a child grows.

Treatment plans need to be fully customized, and patients of the Scoliosis Reduction Center® can benefit from an individualized and integrative approach with proven results.

Conservative non surgical treatment options for childhood scoliosis include close monitoring, physical therapy, corrective bracing, chiropractic care, and rehabilitation.

An unnatural spinal curvature is diagnosed through a physical examination with the patient bending forward and X-ray results, and a child's scoliosis requires a treatment plan that's customized to address key factors such as patient age, condition type, severity, and curvature location.

Risk factors of childhood scoliosis are considered to be age, gender, and a family history.

Treatment depends on when it's started in a condition's progressive line; there are never treatment guarantees, but the sooner treatment is started to correct the curve, the better.

If scoliosis is left untreated, complications and a number of health problems can develop including digestive issues and lung impairment, not to mention the need for surgical intervention and a hospital stay.

So if a child in your life is showing signs of scoliosis, don't hesitate to reach out for assessment.