Anyone Who Knows Anything About Scoliosis

Hi T.,

I do not have a child with scoliosis (I have an 11 month old), but I had a very severe curvature when I was younger (2 curves actually, so my spine was an 'S' shape). I ended up having surgery when I was 11 years old to correct the problem. My spine was fused at the top and bottem, and I had Herrington rods placed on my spine, which I still have today and they never bother me. I am currently 32 years old, and I still have a curve in my spine, but you would never know from looking at me. I carried my child full term with no back problems at all. You would never know from looking at me that I have a curve. My point is that although my scoliosis was quite severe, I am completely normal and do absolutely everything that anyone else does. My back does tend to ache if I clean the house good in 1 day or something like that, but really I don't have any problems. I also wore a brace for 6 months after the surgery. Since your daughter is only 4 years old, it is most likely too early to know the severity of her scoliosis, since she is still growing. It could end up being very slight and no big deal. Scoliosis does run in families, usually among women for some reason. Although I did not have a good 9 months at age 11 because of the surgery and the brace, that is now far behind me. Your daughter will be exactly as she is now as you said....smart, outgoing and caring. Don't let this loom over you for great years of her life, but do stay on top of it and informed so that you can ensure she is treated how she should be when she should be. Just as an FYI...I had my surgery 20 years ago at Children's Hospital and I was in the hospital for 1 month. I know that the same surgery today only requires a 1 week stay. Who knows what advances there would be in the years ahead, so know that your daughter has a very treatable problem.

Hope this helped some.

My son doesn't have scoliosis (or atleast he is too young to know if he does or not) but I have it, my sister has it and my cousin has it (it can run in families - I think mainly in girls). It is just a curve in your spine. Mine isn't that bad, but my sisters is. It just makes my left hip and shoulder a little lower than the other one, which boils down to one pants leg is longer than the other. My sister hers is worse, the uneven hips and shoulder is much more noticeable in her. When my sister was in highschool she got fitted for a brace that she was supposed to wear (which she didn't). It was supposed to stop her spine from getting worse as she finished growing. If it would have gotten bad enough she might have had to have surgery to correct it (which wouldn't have actually totally straightened the spine but would have helped), luckily it never came to that. I don't know what the doctor told you but he will probably just monitor it for now. If the doctor didn't tell you much you should always ask questions, people don't ask enough questions, so you should ask all you want until you are comfortable with everything. Also, I believe that the more you know the more comfortable you can become with something like this, so I encourage you to look it up on the internet.
Just to let you know having it did not affect any of my physical activity nor my sisters. We both played soccer and swam, I played softball and in general was very active when I was younger. It never bothered me one bit, it was just something that my doctor had to check every year (or sometimes more often). Good luck I'm sure it will be fine.

Hi T., I know that chiropractic care can help a child who is suffering from scoliosis. If treated early it can help if not cure it. please research local chiropractors, most of them will probably give you a free consultation and advice. Good luck
C. W

Hi T.,

I was diagnosed with scoliosis at the age of 12. It would depend on how much of a curve in her spine she has. I can tell you that my back hurt alot, especially when I was carrying something. The Dr. prescribed a back brace that I had to wear for a little over a year. They don't usually do surgery unless there is a severe curve that would interfere with growth. I'm not sure what they told you, that she needs to do but like I said everything depends on the severity of her curve. If you have any questions I can help with , I would be glad to answer them.

I don't have a child with scoliosis, but, I have it and I am 28. I was diagnosed when I was about 11 or 12.
I had to wear a custom made, plastic brace, that was fitted from under the breasts to the top of the hips. To keep my spine from having more of a curve until I was fully grown. I don't know what they may do for it now. That was a number of years ago and I was not as young as your daughter.
Scoliosis is hereditary and it is easily treated so there is no visable "hump" on the back later in life. It is not painful. I have heard that chiropractic care can help. Maybe something you would like to look into. I have two kids 3 & 5 and if they are someday diagnosed with it I would definitly look into chiropractic care before I would opt for the brace (if they still do that).
Hope all works out for you.