scoliosis screening in school

[Terry63]

My daughter was diagnosed with scoliosis by her pediatrician during her annual physical last May (at the end of 6th grade), and was consequently confirmed by our orthopedist (30 degrees thoracic, 34 degrees lumbar, with rotation). We live in Maryland, where school screenings are only conducted during 7th grade. I feel very strongly that her scoliosis would have been picked up sooner if there had been a screening during 6th grade, when she had her growth spurt. If her condition would have been identified sooner, it's possible that the degree of her curves would not be as significant because she would have been braced sooner.

Although it's too late for my daughter, I'm trying to find out how to change the screening process at the state level to include screening for scoliosis during 6th grade. Seems like it should be easy, since the PE teachers do the screening at school and have already been trained....

Could you please post your state and which grade scoliosis screenings take place in school? Also, I would be interested in knowing if or how anyone else might have been able to change the policy to include screening at earlier grades. Thanks, and Happy New Year! Terry

[isaacschicky]

Hey! I live in Indiana and we get checked in 5th 7th and 9th grade. I got checked in 5th grade and that was like right when my growth spurt began and i was really lucky. But it would be a good idea to have it earlier in your case! I don't think they take those things serious enough! But good luck. I will be praying for ur doughter!

-hannah 13 IN

[Alleycat]

hey not every where in america checks for it. I moved after 7th grade to a new city, and during that summer my aunt (who has scoliosis) noticed my back was different and sholders were different on a vacation. If it wasn't for her, I could have had severe limitations. because my curve was 57 when I had surgery. but it was no thanks to the schools. I lived in Nashville, TN in 7th grade and no schools of my knowledge check for scoliosis until about a year ago. and only do now. If my school had checked in 7th grade they could have caught my curve before it even hit 30 degrees.

[Terry63]

Thank you all for your replies. It's amazing how standards are different in each area. It would be great if the NSF or other related organizations made some kind of national recommendation for screening in the schools at multiple grades. I'm still in the process of contacting people here to see what I can do. I'll keep people posted on any progress...Please continue to post your state and grade levels of screening at school and thanks!

Terry

[M.Armstrong]

Hi Terry,

I live in Mississippi. I am not sure if all schools in this state do routine checks are not. There is a local organization here that pushed for these routine checks. They are checked in the 5th grade and again in the 8th grade.

[michelle68]

I'm new to the board but not new to scoliosis. Mine was found
during a school screening in 1979.

I'm happy to see that schools are still doing this. I was in
the 6th grade and my curve could have been held more in
check except my HMOs doctors didn't know what to do
to treat it effectivly. I went through physical therapy and
electrode treatments before the decision was made for
a brace. I wore it until my Sr. year in high school.

-Michelle

[briarrose]

I live in Pennsylvania and they check in 7th grade.

[Terry63]

This is surprising me to learn that there aren't multiple checks through middle school. I have been in touch w/people at the state and county levels in MD. The latest is that the state regs mandate "at least one screening" during middle school. Since this does not rule out multiple screenings, I'm still going to push for it in my county.

[Abbi17]

Hey, I live in Ireland, I we dont get any checks in schools or anything! Which is kinna dumb really...I was only Diagnosed with scoliosis 2 months ago, cos I went to my G.P with a sore back!

[Mary Lou]

Hi Terry...
Like Briarrose, we too live in Pennsylvania and our school checks the children in seventh grade. My daughter's Scoliosis was found by our family doctor at her yearly check up. She had just turned 12 but about to enter seventh grade. I asked the school why they don't check until seventh grade and they said since children in PA are required to have a physical before starting sixth grade, they figured the doctors would be checking for it. Personally, I feel that my daughter's Scoliosis started when she was about 9 but wasn't bad enough to notice until she was 12. And our doctor has always checked my daughters for Scoliosis every year.
Mary Lou
P.S. I would like to see our children checked at the 4th or 5th grade level of school since they are maturing so much faster now a days.

[Terry63]

Well, I guess it's good that they do screen here at some point, but after all of my efforts, I've been told that they can't screen over multiple years because of lack of funding. Apparently, the expense kicks in because a specialist needs to follow up on kids that are flagged during the screening. It's too bad!

Terry

[Nicole]

In California, PUBIC schools are checking in 7th grade, unfortunately Private schools are not required to do a screening.

[Jules]

Hi
I live in England and there are no screenings in school at all and there is no public awareness of scoliosis, I only noticed mine by luck!
Love Jules xxxxxx

[ANIMAL LOVER12]

Hi,

I live in Ontario,Canada and our schools don't even do screenings for it. The only reason that I found out I had it was at my doctors office during a physical. We still found it at a pretty young age. In fact I was only six. I just entered the seventh grade and I can't imagine them finding my scoliosis now. They would be pretty alarmed at the size of the hump in my back. I do agree that they should start school screenings earlier in the united states and should start school screenings in canada, england, ireland etc. bye for now :p

[matt]

Hi. My name is Ross. I'm a 15 year old boy from Louisiana and the law here is that the children should be checked from 4th grade and up. I wasn't checked until the end of my 8th grade year:mad:, and the irony about that is that I was diagnosed with Scoliosis and Kyphosis that day before. I didn't go to school for 8 weeks because I had the Scoliosis surgery, and my friends told me that they haven't been checked this year either. I feel that my Scoliosis could have been detected earlier. So I wrote a letter to our school board superitendent telling him that there was some sort of problem. I haven't heard from him yet. I hope that he does something, otherwise I should take this to a higher level of administration. I don't want anyone to have to go through what I went through with the surgery and everything!

Take care!

[MySonMyHeart]

I live in NJ the schools in district check in 5th grade...my son goes to a school out of district, his school doesnt do scoliosis checks, Im the one who noticed it.

[flowerpower]

My son is (finishing) 8th grade and the first school scoli check he has ever had was just about 1-2 months ago.....way after he was already diagnosed. It seems to me since about 5th grade there was always talk of one but they were always cancelled for some reason.

FlowerPower

[judyk]

In Texas public schools are required by law to have scoliosis screening, but iit is largely left up to the individual school districts as to when they are performed. I worked as a school nurse and in my district we were required to do the screening in sixth and ninth grades, the thought being this is the largest period of growth for adolescents and when scolosis is most apt to be detected. We were always taught that it is a "screening" and not able to detect all cases of scoliosis/kyphosis, much like a vision screening does not always pick up all eye problems. It would be nice to have screening done at earlier ages but in the "real world" this is probably not feasible for public schools. Just think, in the 60's and 70's many students were not screened at all. I guess my suggestion is to find out what your own school system has in place for school spinal screening, and if the screening is not done until a later age, check with your doctor.

[KRIS ATKINSON]

I live in North Carolina and do not know about the school screenings, but I "diagnosed" my daughter's scoliosis when I went to give her a backrub for her back pain, which she had been having for 2 months at the time. I had her lay down on her bed and immediately noticed her hump. A few months earlier, her Physician's Assistant signed off on her camp physical that there was "no scoliosis". I took her to the doctor after seeing her rib hump and they did an x-ray to find a 45 degree curve. I suspect the PA at that same clinic earlier that year misdiagnosed. Amazing that if I could see it without even having her in the bent over position, how could it be missed by a PA a few months earlier, and suddenly be 45 degrees! Someday I may pursue this issue with the clinic. She has been to camp annually and therefore has had regular physicals. I assume my other kids are getting physicals for sports annually, and their spines should be checked at those. If all else fails, I have them lean over and trace their spines occassionally. After all, I diagnosed my daughter's, and my own scoliosis is about 10 degrees at most, so I can probably tell if my boys get it too. It is very aggravating if the PA actually did miss it. If she missed it and it was there, close to 45 degrees, I wonder how good a school screening would be anyway? Kris

[flowerpower]

Just a thought as I was reading Kris' last post: between the time the PA did a scoli screening and the time you noticed your daughters scoli did she go through a big growth spurt?? One mom I have spoken with told me her sons curve went from 10 to 55 in a year. I was just thinking that if the curve starts to progress at a more rapid pace over a few months rather than gradually over a period of time that might cause pain because the body is trying to adjust. And pain would be the body's way of telling you something is not right...............I also have 2 other children I am keeping a very watchful eye on, especially 12 year old daughter. I don't notice any curve when she bends over but when I look at her upper chest/sternum one side seems to stick out a little more that the other. Could that be a sign of scoli also? Is it possible for spine to rotate and cause something like that without much curve yet????? Sorry, didn't mean to go off topic. My hubby recently talked to a nurse who assists in scoli screenings in our school district. She did see some other kids with scoli, but not as severe as my sons. Here, there are so many kids that they have to try to get through I don't know how thorough they can be, unless the curve is significant I would imagine it might be hard to detect through clothing, etc.

[KRIS ATKINSON]

Flower Power, I wonder also if she could have gone through a growth spurt. I have conflicting information regarding the issue: I talked on the phone with a chiropractor who said that because her curve is so high now, he couldn't do anything for her, unlike other scoli people he helps, so he agreed that surgery is needed. I appreciated his honesty and not trying to convince me to let him do his stuff instead of surgery. Therefore, he seemed pretty realisitic about the issue. He said though, he never does like PA's, as apparently they misdiagnose or something, and that he felt her curve would not have had that drastic a change in, say 6 months. I also was looking at a photo of Erica leaning over a few years ago, and she looked like she had a rib hump in that photo from the side. Unfortunately, the photo is not a medical photo or anything for the purpose of analysing her health. She was helping her dad build a little windmill and I happened to get a picture of her in the bent forward position. It made me wonder if she had the rib hump then, before the last physical that showed no scoliosis. As you said, it could have been a growth spurt. Also, I wonder if it was gradual and could have been caught at that physical before it became painful to her. Interesting, but aren't we all thankful for surgery!!! Kris

[Shaun26]

They didn't have this kind of screening at the schools I went to and I'm only 26 years old. Did they just start doing this in the past 5-10 years?

I think they should do it each year for children from kindergarten to 16 years of age.

[carebear23]

I was diagnosed by my chiropracter after complaining of foot pain. He was just doing a routine check and realized almost right away that I had uneven shoulders and a very prominent hump on the right side. I was 12.

When I had to get my first brace the teachers were all so interested as to why. Some thought I was in an accident, some thought I contracted some kind of disease. No one ever heard of it. They practically turned me into a lab rat and made my condition very public in the school (against my wishes.) I was teased constantly and "knocked on" when I wore my brace. I only ever met one other person who had to go through wearing a brace until I found this site about 2 months ago.

I think if it became manditory in schools worldwide then kids with scoliosis wouldn't feel so different and out of place.. especially in small towns or remote cities where no one seems to know what it is.


--
By the way.. after being diagnosed my mother decided to get the rest of my family checked. Both my younger brother and sister were also diagnosed though they had very mild curves and "grew out of them" during puberty.

[Abbyjo_21]

There was no screeing done in my school either. My scoliosis was found the summer befor 7th grade when I went in for a physical so I could play volleyball that fall. I ended up having surgery within probably 3 to 4 months because the curvature was too far. I am 16 now, and will be starting my junior year this fall and my school still does not do any screening for scoliosis so I personally tell people to check it out. I believe screeing should start at a young age, I mean its not like its costing the schools any money to have the screening done yearly.

[Mary Lou]

Shaun,

I'm not sure where you live, but I live in Pennsylvania (US) and I'm having my 20th class reunion this year and I remember being tested every year in high school, so no it isn't something that they just started in the past 5-10 years, at least not in my state.

Mary Lou

[MOB]

Hey, I live in Ireland, I we dont get any checks in schools or anything! Which is kinna dumb really...I was only Diagnosed with scoliosis 2 months ago, cos I went to my G.P with a sore back!

Abbi, I also live in Ireland and I had school screening back in 1980

[marmyte]

last week at my consultation i was told by my surgeon that there did used to be scoli screening in the UK (and more prevalently in scotland) but a while ago (i can't remember when, but it was before i started school in 1991) radiation became the beast of the modern world and something we should all shield ourselves from, there was a big paranoia about "unnecessary" xrays (as there still is) and scoli screening was stopped because of this (and in recent years it hasn't been picked up again due to the increased litigation culture and fear of paedophilia - funny how one thing leads to another, isn't it?)

my feeling is that any risk from exposure to radiation due to xrays required to check for scoliosis is far outweighed by the benefit, even if it is just peace of mind which is gained. when i was 4 and i started school, it was compulsory to have a medical (i don't know if this is still the case, and it may even vary from region to region in the UK) and a parent was required to attend. the nurse asked me to bend over and my mum asked why. it's only because of that incident and my mum remembering that i was diagnosed at 14. if i hadn't been diagnosed then, i could've gone unchecked for ages. i eventually was starting to get pain when i was about 16 but a lot of people brush off back pain so i have no idea what would've happened if my mum hadn't noticed by chance

[CJH109]

My school system does it every year from 5th to 9th grade. However even when I had a 34 degree curve, the school failed to detect it for years, and it was only discovered by my doctor at a later physical.

[Jadey]

I live in the UK and we have no screenings for Scoliosis. My Scoliosis was found when I started having back pain so I have no idea how I've had it for. I think the UK should have screenings for Scoliosis as more people can be diagnosed sooner rather then later.

[AAU_dad]

I live in Indiana and my daughter was screened in 5th in Sept. and 6th grade in Sept. We recieved 2 sceening reports that stated she was screened by RN and was found to be normal. Dec. this year 6th grade 3 month after her last screening her aunt who 25 years ago had surgery for scoliosis said get her checked. Dec. 28 she was X rayed and diagnose at 41 degrees. How could they miss this and while my childs health is my responsibilty why would I question with 2 negative screenings by an RN. It went on to 46 degrees by March and we have already had the surgery. At 1 to1.5 degrees per month it would have been nice to catch this in the 5th grade and 22 or so degrees less.

Bottom line is do not depend on school RNs

[always smilin']

i live in a school district in WI and just talked to the school nurse about why we don't screen. She is the only nurse in a district of 6 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school. Apparently they didn't find it worth their time to check all kids at middle school given the small percentage of kids with scoliosis. So, no screening whatsoever here. (Although I remember a time when we screened every year. I thought I'd get a chuckle because I already knew I had scoliosis so for once others could be uncomfortable being screened - and wouldn't you know...the teachers all asked me to go first so they knew what to look for! Go figure! :) )

[malka22]

The school nurse checks in 6th & 8th grades. In my daughter's case, nothing was found in 6th grade. Since they skip 7th grade, she wasn't checked again until 8th grade & by then she had a 45 degree S-curve (the other curve is 27). Could it have gotten that bad that fast?? It's all my fault (we moms always take the blame, don't we?) because I never took her to the pediatrician for a regular physical between 6th & 8th grades. Otherwise, it would have been found sooner.

[Snoopy]

malka,

Don't beat yourself up, you're not the only parent who didn't notice their child's Scoliosis. I did take (and still do) both of my daughters for a yearly check-up and my daughter's Scoli wasn't found until it was 36*. Just because you didn't take her for a physical in 7th grade, doesn't mean it would have been found sooner. Like I said, Jamie was checked every year by the same doctor and it was never found until she was 12 y.o. so, like you I beat myself up for not noticing it, but no you know what, it doesn't do any good to blame yourself! I know, we all go through that faze in the beginning, but we can't change anything now, so my advice would be to focus on the here and now. Good luck.

Mary Lou

[expatient]

And they should also check why scoliosis is developing? There is always a reason for it... most of them could be prevented. But they never check that.
:(

[x-becki-x]

Im 16 and live in the channel islands in the UK and the schools here don't do any checks at all. Im havin surgery in 3 weeks, which makes me angry cos no1 noticed my curve until it was 2late 4 a brace :(

[expatient]

Im 16 and live in the channel islands in the UK and the schools here don't do any checks at all. Im havin surgery in 3 weeks, which makes me angry cos no1 noticed my curve until it was 2late 4 a brace :(
A brace is not an answer. The answer would be to correct that problem what is causing the scoliosis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEUPFNBXTNE

[Lab Dog]

We live in North Dakota. Screening is done in 6th and 8th grade for girls and 8th grade only for boys. When I was in school it was done only in 7th grade, and since my sister's growth spurt was in 8th grade her scoli wasn't caught. Interestingly, both my mother and mother-in-law (in their 70's) also were screened for scoliosis in 7th grade.

[aprilshowers]

I was checked in middle school, twice I believe, but I could be wrong. I think it was 6th and 7th grade. It was not caught either time and by the time I had my physical before entering 9th grade I had a 47 degree curve. How did they not catch it? I have a bad lumbar which may be a little harder to detect, but it is very visible when I bend over. Do they even know what to look for?