My oldest girl Faith, has just gotten this diagnosis. Does anyone have a kiddo with this? or do you deal with it personally?

I'm a little upset they didnt catch it the first two times she was checked at school, and she's been to the dr for back pain as well.

I'm reading all sorts of horror stories online, scaring the bejeepers outta me.

I'm also seeing how it's manageable, but still can be painful

Just looking for some personal experiences

 

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Mine is not too severe and mostly caused by an injury I got in my teens, then exacerbated by poor posture and a couple decades of desk jobs. (Poor posture might be one of those chicken and egg things.)

For me the main problem is "just" back pain. It has been greatly improved with chiropractic adjustments and stretching and exercise to deal with the unbalanced muscle development. So far I'm holding off turning into pretzel man.

 

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It really depends on how bad the curvature is. My sister was told (after those lovely screenings we had in school sent her and my mom to the doctor) that she was about a degree off surgical intervention. She's had back problems her entire life, pain, you name it. It made childbirth a little more difficult than it might have been otherwise, but she did it.

On the other end of the spectrum, I graduated with a girl who had surgery on her back three times and was in a brace for over ten years because hers was so bad. Her name was Farley, which is the other reason that I'll probably never forget her. :/

 

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My daughter, Shannan, has it. She was diagnosed in the 5th grade after being checked in the 3rd and 4th grade. The only issue she has/had with her back is she cannot sit/stand "still" for long periods of time. She plays the flute and had to give up marching band due to not being able stand at attention the amount of time the director wanted them to.

What degree did they say Faith's was? As Jennifer said, it depends on that.

 

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Well it also depends on more than the curvature, although that is usually the biggest issue. My cousin Charlene has, if I remember right, a pretty pronounced S-shaped curvature. Basically where the spine starts at the neck, it lines up perfectly with where her spine meets her hips or whatever, but there is this giant S in the middle. You cannot tell just by looking at her that she has scoliosis. It hasn't bothered her much, either. The biggest thing for her is that she can only carry stuff with one hand, I don't remember which. Like groceries, because if she puts the weight on the other side of her body she/her back isn't strong enough to support the weight. Just on one side though.

I can't remember if she's looking into surgery or not. She's had 3 kids with no problems, also.

My step-grandmother had really bad scoliosis as well, it created a pretty pronounced hunchback look. I know she recently had surgery within the last couple years and even though late in life, it has helped her immensely...besides adding a few inches to her height!

I will ask them both a little more about their backs.

 

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Her curves are 18 Degrees and 7 degrees

they won't do anything until it gets worse I guess. That kinda frustrates me, her back does hurt her, bugs me that it'll just have to keep hurting. The 7 degree curve they arent concerned about, it's the bigger one. I'm also surprised the schools didnt catch it, she was screened twice

She has a 6 month xray scheduled, to see where we are then

 

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Two days later they call and say they made an appointment with the specialist...I didnt call them back or anything..

Kinda odd lol

 

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If it makes you feel any better about the school screenings I went to specialists from the time I was ... grade 5... so... 10-11? Anyways they told me to do exercises and stuff but had no reasoning behind why my back, and invariably, neck always hurt. So when I was 18 my chiropractor at the time decided to x-ray my back. Yep, I have scoliosis. From looking at me you wouldn't guess but if I do any sports or physical activity where falling or physical contact is involved there is a reasonable chance my back will go out of place causing muscle/joint pain and headaches.

While it isn't great to have, I'm really no different than anyone else. Very manageable and your child could easily take care of it without being held back from sports or what have you. You just have to keep it in the back of your mind that icing after strain can go a long way to reduce possible headaches/pain.


Unfortunately I can't say exactly what degree(s) of scoliosis I have... Never got that in writing.