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Scoliosis Myths
August 16, 2009 |
It’s a curving of the spine that doctors admit they can’t quite figure out why.
But what they do know: is that there are many myths surrounding scoliosis.
The first “is it’s related to posture, which it is not. Bad posture which is common
in teenagers does not cause scoliosis,” says Dr. John Churchill, a pediatric orthopedic
ppecialist on the medical staff of The Children’s Hospital.
The second, “scoliosis is not caused by backpacks. It’s not caused by using your
shoulder bag on the wrong shoulder. It’s not cured by exercise programs.”
Now the facts.
The first: There is no cure. Researchers are looking at a possible
genetic component
to try and find a cause, and then ultimately, a cure. “Scoliosis,
fortunately, is painless although some children who do have back pain also have
a small curve,” explains Dr. Churchill.
He says the quicker the diagnosis, the better the treatments available, “if you think the child has a problem with scoliosis, the best thing is to see a physician
and get an x-ray.’ Doctors’ offices and schools do screenings to check for scoliosis.
Parents can also check by doing a back test, have the child bend over and rub their
back to see if one side of the back or shoulder blades is higher than the other.
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