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Post by Really Red on Jul 8, 2014 1:19:45 GMT
 I'm really surprised that she wasn't sent right away to an orthopedist to check it out. 20 is a lot. I have a daughter with a heart defect. Your spine and your heart are formed at the same time and many kids with heart defects have congenital scoliosis. My DD is lucky because hers didn't progress any more, but we watched it carefully for years. You cannot go backwards - that is to say the more out of shape your back gets, the more chances it won't get straighter. On the bright side, measurements are not an exact science. One person's 20 can be another's 10. Really. My niece had scoliosis and I am not kidding you, it was miserable. Back brace for two years all the time except for a shower. I say that, but it's worth every hateful minute. My cousin didn't get the brace and had to have back surgery at 25 a few years ago. She said (and she's a pretty easy-going person) that she would never do that again and no pain is worth that. None. Honestly, I'd see an orthopedist and check it out. HOpefully your pediatrician's measuring is off. I'm sorry |
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Post by stampinbetsy on Jul 8, 2014 1:26:43 GMT
Definitely get a referral to an orthopedist. My DS (who is 15 now) was sent for x-rays by the endocrinologist probably 3-4 years ago. His impression of the x-rays was that he had something like a 25 degree curvature. The orthopedist he set us up with said it was 9 degrees, which apparently isn't considered scoliosis. We followed up in a year, and it hasn't gotten any worse. Let the expert check it out before you start worrying about it (easier said than done, I know).
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Post by Skellinton on Jul 8, 2014 1:27:52 GMT
I have scoliosis, but it was caught when I was very young, 4 or 5 and I wore a brace until I had surgery at 13. Your daughters curve isn't terribly bad, mine was 72 when they did surgery, and I think 10 is considered "normal". I would just keep a very close eye on it and find a doctor who specializes in that kind of treatment.
I am kind of surpised they would brace her at the age of 13, but I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on tv! Even though I wore the brace for 8 years it didn't fix me and 13 is an age they could do surgery as long as she has started menstrating. I was given the choice of wearing the brace until I was 16 in case it started working, but at 13 I knew there was no way I would want to do the surgery at 16. I don't know what they do now, but I had to wear a milwaukie brace for 10 months after the surgery, not something I felt like putting off. I imagine now it is a shorter time wearing the brace after surgery.
Good luck, if your daughter does have to wear a brace let her know it is not the end of the world, and in a few years she won't even think about it or even really remember it! It is barely a blip on my radar of my life, and I wore it 23 hours a day for 8 years and 24 for almost a year. I have no bad lasting effects other than my back doesn't absorb shock, so I can't be a runner, but other than that and having to be careful when lifting it doesn't effect me at all.
Good luck, and if you have any questions I am happy to answer if I can!
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Post by Skellinton on Jul 8, 2014 1:32:57 GMT
I would not wait until December, see an orthopedist now to get his measurement documented so you can compare that to her curve in upcoming months. 6 months is a long time, too long, really. Kind of odd it wasn't caught earlier if she does in fact have it. Most people who "get" scoliosis eat her age get it as a result of a growth spurt, since your daughter is only 5 feet 2 inches, that doesn't seem likely. Please see an orthopedist (I couldn't think of the name in my first post, I could only think of my amazing Drs name).
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Post by Skellinton on Jul 8, 2014 1:34:21 GMT
I was very flexible until the rods were put in my back, I think they were just having her bend over to see her spine better.
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Post by CarolinaGirl71 on Jul 8, 2014 1:49:56 GMT
Dd had her preop eye surgery appointment today. Last test was to touch her toes (which she was nowhere close to doing) even though she's 5'2 and 100 pounds. I didn't laugh but thought "not the most nimble creature". Until pediatrician brought out a tool to measure her spine and told me her spine had a 20 degree curve (5 was the measurement) and they'd check it every few months for progression of scoliosis. If she gets to 6, we need to brace her. Never heard this before or know of anyone with this condition. Do you have any advice? She just turned 13 yesterday and is facing eye surgery in two weeks. Now this. The pediatrician had her bend over to see the shape of the spine/back better. The tool that was used is called a scoliometer, it is similar to a level. If that reading is greater than the normal range (per age), then you are referred to an orthopedist. The orthopedist will do an x-ray (if needed) and measure the curve of the spine that shows up on the x-ray. (The variation away from a straight line that a normal spine would be in). That is the degrees of scoliosis of the spine. The numbers found on x-ray do not correlate with the numbers found by external tool, that's probably part of the confusion. The more accurate test is the one done by x-ray. The pediatrician did the external screening test to determine the need for further testing. It's not prudent to x-ray everyone due to the unnecessary exposure to radiation. That's why a pediatrician will do this screening during a checkup. Sometimes it's repeated every several months if it is borderline - I have seen it progress in some people, to the point of needing a brace and/or surgery, and I've also seen it stay the same in many who never needed any further treatment. They keep checking it until the child's growth is complete, and then it shouldn't be a problem. Not something to worry about, but something to keep an eye on. In case you're wondering why I know this random information, I'm a former school nurse, and we used to screen all of the middle school students for scoliosis. |
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Post by Skellinton on Jul 8, 2014 1:52:25 GMT
FWIW, I'm 5'2 and dh is 5'10 so if she grew 3 inches in year, that's a spurt. Did she grow 3 inches in one year? |
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Post by elaine on Jul 8, 2014 1:57:16 GMT
it wasn't seen last year. She's 13 and menstruating so they think she'll be done growing this time next year. I started menstruating the month I turned 12 and didn't stop growing until I was 18. I'm 5'8". Why do you think she'll stop growing so abnormally young? My my scoliosis has caused a lot of issues. If you can treat it early, please do! |
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Post by traceys on Jul 8, 2014 2:05:59 GMT
I have scoliosis, although I can't remember what the number was. It was not discovered until I was about 16-17, so I never had a brace. At first they thought one leg was shorter than the other, because once I started to develop, you could see that I had more of a "curve" between my waist and hip on one side than the other.
It hasn't been a huge problem, except that I have had more back problems as I've gotten older. I don't know if they are because of the scoliosis, or just exacerbated by it. But when I was young, it didn't really limit me. I skied, cheered, and was pretty active. I would keep a close eye on it to see if a brace is needed. If surgery can be avoided, I would do whatever I could to avoid it.
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439 
Location: Idaho
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Post by perumbula on Jul 8, 2014 2:54:18 GMT
That isn't abnormally young for girls. The average girl stops growing in her early to mid teens. There is a wide range of ages of course with girls stopping at 12 and others growing until 18 like you, but 14 sounds pretty average to me. Poor thing. I hope it doesn't get worse and her eyes are the only thing you have to worry about. What a crummy thing for her to deal with. |
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Post by ptamom on Jul 8, 2014 3:01:46 GMT
Has her pediatrician not been looking out for this?
Ever since my kids could stand unassisted, their dr has had the bend all the way down so he could run his hand down their spines, to see if they were straight.
Unless this is a new condition, it should have been caught long before now!
If this is new at 13, she should see a specialist!
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Post by wiipii2 on Jul 8, 2014 3:11:07 GMT
It doesn't matter how far she can bend down to touch her toes or not - he had her bend over like that to see her spine.
I have scoliosis and my parents wouldn't allow bracing or surgery when I was a kid. I used to lie in bed crying at night I was in so much pain by the time I was 12.
It does affect my breathing and I do have arrhythmias from one side of my chest being compressed by the curvature. Its gotten worse as I've gotten older.
I know a lot of times, physio is now recommended for it.
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Post by cme37 on Jul 8, 2014 3:38:38 GMT
I have scoliosis. I had the surgery when I was 13. By the time my parents finally took me to the doctor, my curve had progressed past the brace stage. This was back in 79, so it has been quite a while ago and I know the way they do the surgery is much different now. My cousin had it done last summer and her recovery was much faster than mine.
One good thing about having the surgery is that i can't slouch. I always get compliments on my good posture.
We are watching both of my boys for it. They thought my younger one had it, but his seems to have disappeared and now the older one is showing signs.
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Post by elaine on Jul 8, 2014 3:48:13 GMT
That isn't abnormally young for girls. The average girl stops growing in her early to mid teens. There is a wide range of ages of course with girls stopping at 12 and others growing until 18 like you, but 14 sounds pretty average to me. Poor thing. I hope it doesn't get worse and her eyes are the only thing you have to worry about. What a crummy thing for her to deal with. But she is not 14, she is 13! Nowhere do I see that 13 is an average age to stop growing. I've had issues with pinched nerves due to my untreated scoliosis. Again, best to see an orthoped after the eye issue is taken care of. |
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Post by cme37 on Jul 8, 2014 3:51:29 GMT
I was 5'2" when I had my surgery at 13. I grew 2 inches on the table when they straightened me out to 5'4". I'm 5'6" now. I don't think I stopped growing until I was around 16 or 17.
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Post by fotos4u2 on Jul 8, 2014 4:18:39 GMT
Like some others, I'm surprised your pediatrician has not been looking for this earlier. Every one of our peds has checked my kids fairly regularly from about kindergarten age. My mother actually has scoliosis, it was not diagnosed until after I was born and she had surgery (back then it was huge--she was in a body cast for a year and she has a steel bar in her back plus she lost the equivalent of 4 inches of her height from the curve!). Thankfully neither myself nor any of my kids have shown any signs.
It would seem like if it's possible to see an orthopedist it might help put your mind at ease (and obviously the sooner they start bracing if there is an issue the better).
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 5, 2024 18:24:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 4:23:36 GMT
Try to take a deep breath. It's hard when those you love suffer from health issues. However, your anxiety will only make her experience worse. I know this from personal experience. These things are treatable. It will all be okay in the end. Keep moving forward with the doctors but don't stress over something that may or may not happen. Prepaying with worry for things that may never happen is pointless. I hope your DD's surgery goes well. Kids are a lot more resilient than we give them credit for.
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Post by Jockscrap on Jul 8, 2014 6:15:19 GMT
My DD has adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, ie, that which has no known cause, other than it might be associated with a rapid growth spurt. It was picked up by me when I was rubbing suntan cream on her back just before her 15th birthday. Her curve was measured on X-ray to have a Cobb angle of about 23 degree. Our GP referred her straight away to orthopaedics, where an MRI scan was done to rule out any sinister underlying cause (rare). She then had another one or 2 X-rays over the next 18 months or so to check for any change in the curve and to see when she had stopped growing. Once they could tell from a wrist X-ray that she had stopped growing, she was discharged from the clinic. The risk of this type of curve progressing after growing stops is very small.
The scoliosis barely impacts on her life at all. If you know what you are looking for, you can see it - she looks more curvy with a more pronounced waist over the hip on one side, but she often wears very fitted clothing and the vast majority of folk wouldn't notice it unless they were looking for it. She constantly self corrects her posture as a physio showed her to do, which makes quite a difference, but would be like me constantly pulling my tummy muscles in - it is quite a strain to do all the time.
My DD is extremely flexible and strong. There is the odd Pilates exercise lying on her side that is uncomfortable for her. Other than that, the scoliosis has no impact on her life. No pain, no loss of movement. Pilates is an excellent thing to do.
OP, I can understand a little of how you are feeling. When I discovered my DD''s curve on holiday, my DH and I were devastated, and the time until the first appointment felt like an age, but it has turned out not to be something to worry about at all.
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I'm really surprised that she wasn't sent right away to an orthopedist to check it out. 20 is a lot. I have a daughter with a heart defect. Your spine and your heart are formed at the same time and many kids with heart defects have congenital scoliosis. My DD is lucky because hers didn't progress any more, but we watched it carefully for years. You cannot go backwards - that is to say the more out of shape your back gets, the more chances it won't get straighter. 
