The day we noticed Anni's unusual curves, the first thing to come to my mind was, "Oh my gosh...it looks like mom's tweaked back." It put us in a bit of a panic because my mom is having joint issues and I didn't want Anni to have problems, assuming that she was putting a lot of weight on that side. The next move was to have her checked out. Maybe she was just a little too rough in play and screwed up her back. Surely, a little physical therapy could help her out.
Instead, we find she has Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis. According to our research, only a small percentage of the population gets scoliosis–roughly 2%–of which are mostly females. Annika falls into the most common form called idiopathic scoliosis. It simply means that the cause is unknown except for a seeming constant that otherwise healthy children whose families have a history of this condition are at higher risk of developing this curvature.
While some scoliotic spines can be addressed by simple monitoring and observation–if the curves are smaller than 20º–others progress to a degree that requires bracing to prevent progression. In Anni's case, her curvature is already in excess of 50º with a likelihood of quick and continued progression since she still has a lot of growth left. The course of treatment is spinal fusion surgery. Bracing will not work given the severity of her curvature. Growing rods were also presented to us as an alternative to delay the inevitable fusion surgery. We weren't hip on that idea.
To my knowledge, scoliosis screening is no longer done in the schools. It is left to parents to monitor this and the general health of their children. It's unfortunate that we aren't well-educated about scoliosis. We are drilled about immunization and flu shots, warned against drugs and sexual deseases but because scoliosis is not a "widespread" condition, I guess it's just left in the marginal bliss of ignorance. Personally, I think a 1 in 50 odds is not a rare enough condition to be ignored.
Here are a few good websites for information about scoliosis:
Understanding Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis
Scoliosis Research Society
iScoliosis.com
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