teen boy mild scoliosis

[Anonymous]

The pediatrician sent my son to an ortho for an x-ray and scoliosis assessment because she saw a slight unevenness. Turns out he has a 12% curvature (curves to the right in the mid-back, not upper) - so very mild.

He is a late bloomer in terms of growth - he's in the middle of his biggest growth spurt right now, I think. He's 5'10 and a half and expected to get to between 6 feet and 6'2.

We went to an ortho at OrthoVirginia who is a scoliosis specialist; he said nothing needed to be done except another X-ray in 6 months. He said no PT has been proven to help or prevent the curve from getting worse. He said keep living your life, don't change anything. My son plays lots of sports including tennis.

Would love to hear from others who have had a similar experience - did the curve worsen to the point of needing treatment? Can mild curves like this ever straighten out as a kid grows? My son is very good about stretching and exercises so are there things that MIGHT help? We'd try them if so.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Uh, get him a script for PT. There's a lot they can do (giving him specific exercises) to get his spine straight. Growing fast contributes to scoliosis.

Prevent this however you can, OP. My brother got it and it was so severe he had to have two metal rods put on either side of his back at age 17. Like you, he was told by the first ortho it was fine, do nothing. My parents looked into suing him after my brother wound up needing that huge surgery.

[Anonymous]

My son grew out if it.

[Anonymous]

My ds has a 13* curve. He is also on the 6 month monitoring plan with a scoliosis specialist at Johns Hopkins. We were told similar to what you were. He is 6'1 and just turned 15. He swims, plays tennis and lifts weights, but no pt is rec.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son grew out if it.

How?

[Anonymous]

Same situation here, except a girl. We monitored until she stopped growing, but the curve never got bad enough to need treatment.

[Anonymous]

DH had it all his life.
Caused problems after 50.
Try Scroth. It helped him a lot.

[Anonymous]

My DS made a huge difference in his by team swim, butterfly stroke through high school. Also, keep core very strong. Breaststroke and back stroke are probably good, but if doing freestyle, imperative to alternate breathing on both sides. Do everything possible to elongate the muscles and spine through this growth period.

[Anonymous]

Mine grew out of it. TBH, I don't remember the degree of curvature. They flagged it when he was 12, he hit his growth spurt at 14, and then they said it had resolved. We didn't do anything special, though he was very active.

[Anonymous]

anyone think pilates (on a reformer) would help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The pediatrician sent my son to an ortho for an x-ray and scoliosis assessment because she saw a slight unevenness. Turns out he has a 12% curvature (curves to the right in the mid-back, not upper) - so very mild.

He is a late bloomer in terms of growth - he's in the middle of his biggest growth spurt right now, I think. He's 5'10 and a half and expected to get to between 6 feet and 6'2.

We went to an ortho at OrthoVirginia who is a scoliosis specialist; he said nothing needed to be done except another X-ray in 6 months. He said no PT has been proven to help or prevent the curve from getting worse. He said keep living your life, don't change anything. My son plays lots of sports including tennis.

Would love to hear from others who have had a similar experience - did the curve worsen to the point of needing treatment? Can mild curves like this ever straighten out as a kid grows? My son is very good about stretching and exercises so are there things that MIGHT help? We'd try them if so.

Thanks!

Agree with regularly following-up with x-rays to ensure it doesn't worsen as he grows. Don't need PT. Just have him do core strength and ensure he keeps a strong core. My son had a 28 degree curve and required treatment. 12 degrees is barely at the diagnosis level, and he only has a few more inches to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH had it all his life.
Caused problems after 50.
Try Scroth. It helped him a lot.

I don’t know what Scoth is but I am 50 and starting to have problems with my foot and ankle because one leg is shorter than the other due to scoliosis. My parents “just watched it” with a doctor and no treatment. I would really pursue PT.

[Anonymous]

Getting diagnosed this late and with such a small curve, I wouldn’t even get the X-rays. It’s unlikely to get much worse and even more unlikely to get worse enough to meet the bar for treatment. Getting xray of the entire
Spine, as recommended for this, means they cannot shield testiculs or thyroid. No way I’d have my kid do this every 6 months for yrs if they were 15 with a 12 percent curve and only a couple inches left to grow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:anyone think pilates (on a reformer) would help?

I have scoliosis and slouch very badly. I used to do Pilates and it helped me straighten up a lot. My core is naturally very weak and it made a big difference for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Getting diagnosed this late and with such a small curve, I wouldn’t even get the X-rays. It’s unlikely to get much worse and even more unlikely to get worse enough to meet the bar for treatment. Getting xray of the entire
Spine, as recommended for this, means they cannot shield testiculs or thyroid. No way I’d have my kid do this every 6 months for yrs if they were 15 with a 12 percent curve and only a couple inches left to grow

The x ray technology used is safer/less radiation than standard x rays.