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The Early Signs Of Scoliosis And How To Intervene

Scoliosis is a condition affecting the spine and is characterized by the lateral curvature of the spine.

It’s a condition that will in most cases affect young boys and girls as a result of growth spurts, but this doesn’t mean that it cannot affect infants and adults, though in rare cases.

Now, it’s estimated that nearly 7 million Americans have scoliosis. This, according to the National Scoliosis Foundation, is a worrying trend.

When undetected, scoliosis can in most cases cause lifelong health problems that can make life unbearable.

This will usually happen if the early warning signs will go undetected and dealt with.

The Early Signs Of Scoliosis And How To Intervene

The importance of detecting the early warning signs of scoliosis is to provide patients with the chance to grow without thesa debilitating effects of the disease.

Among the ways doctors can monitor and detect scoliosis is by using MRI tests, X-Ray, the Adams Test, and postural analysis.

However, there are common signs that can help to determine whether a person has scoliosis or not.

To help you out, below are the early signs of scoliosis and how to intervene.

The Early Warning Signs of Scoliosis

Visible Abnormalities in Posture

One of the earliest signs of scoliosis can be observed from a person’s posture.

Under normal circumstances, you should typically have an upright posture when standing or sitting upright.

But in this case, however, the spine will form a curve that will cause one of the shoulders to thrust upwards depending on the direction of the curve and the waist and hips will be out of alignment.

The thing with scoliosis is that most of these changes will be subtle and will in most cases, become evident even before the curve in the spine becomes apparent.

The experts at Align Clinic believe that the best time to intervene is before the condition gets even worse.

This is because scoliosis is a condition that gets worse as time passes, all the more reasons to treat it in the early stages.

Fatigue

Fatigue can in so many ways be mistaken as the symptom for various ailments.

If you talk to any doctor out there, they’ll tell you for a fact that if you notice prolonged fatigue, you should visit your physician for further tests0If you’ve been experiencing fatigue after standing or sitting for long hours, then it might as well be an early warning sign of scoliosis.

The curve on the spine can put a lot of pressure on your chest cavity and as a result, restrict your ability to breathe.

This is what causes chronic fatigue.

Back Pains

Most scoliosis patients will have a normal life, say for the abnormalities in posture.

However, this eventually changes when the condition progresses and the curve of the spine becomes severe.

This will put a lot of pressure on your intervertebral discs and this will cause your back to hurt.

In addition to this, the curve will put a lot of pressure on your nerves and this can cause numbness and weakness in your limbs.

Intervention: Scoliosis Treatment Options

A curved spine cannot repair on its own. There is a need for various applications to not only alleviate the symptoms but also treat the condition.

Let’s take a look at the various intervention procedures for treating scoliosis, they include:

Bracing Treatment

The Early Signs Of Scoliosis And How To Intervene

These braces will be recommended when the curve exceeds the curve length of between 20-40 degrees.

Back braces may vary depending on the pressure needed to align the spine to its normal position or prevent it from progressing.

There are two types of scoliosis back braces including full-time back braces and nighttime back braces. These can either be made of tough fabric or hard plastic.

This means that with back braces, you’ll not have to go through with invasive scoliosis treatment procedures.

Surgery

Usually, the curve will determine the treatment option to be applied when treating scoliosis.

In this case, surgery will be recommended for patients whose spines have a curve of between 45-50 degrees.

With such a curve, a patient will have difficulties in breathing. The doctors may consider a spinal fusion surgical procedure to stop the spine from curving any further.

Unfortunately, most schools no longer have scoliosis screening especially to lower class students.

This brings in the need to take matters into your own hands to ensure that your child is monitored at an early stage.

In case they are found with the condition, it makes it easier to contain and treat. The same also applies to infants and adults, the earlier the better.

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