Is an almost 10-year-old boy juvenile?

[Yotam's Mom]

My son was diagnosed with mild scoliosis two months before his 10th birthday. We have not yet seen the ortho, (appointment next month) but the x-ray result was reported as "mild" with no measurements. (we saw the x-ray, and the curve is noticeable but definitely under 20*) I understand that the chances that adolescent scoliosis will progress, particularly for a boy, are very low. On the other had, the chances that juvenile scoliosis will progress are very high. Some sites that I saw (like this one) put the line at 10, and others at 12. My question is, what should I be asking the orthopedist to understand whether he's "adolescent" or "juvenile?" I understand that Risser number is one measure, but is not always accurate, particularly for boys. I have a feeling that the ortho will say "wait and see," which I can accept at this point, but what's a good waiting period at this age -- 3mos? 6 mos? a year?

I'd appreciate any help you could give me.

Thanks,
Gigi

[mariaf]

Hi Gigi,

I've seen juvenile described as 3-10 years old but there's no magic number. He's growing prettly steadily now I'd guess - and for boys, the big growth spurt comes later than it does for girls, so he does have quite a bit of growth left to do and several years to do it.

My guess is that they'd want to see him every 4-6 months, based on the exact measurement of his curve so long as it's well under 20. Closer to 20, they may say 3-4 months.

Good luck and keep us posted,

[flowerpower]

Hi Gigi,

Everything Maria said was right on. My eldest son was diagnosed as AIS when he was just a couple of months past 10th b-day. My youngest (9 1/2) was just diagnosed by pediatrician-I'm sure ortho will diagnose him as JIS. I think with our boys being diagnosed so young the odds are high that it will continue to progress. Another way to measure skeletal maturity is to x-ray the hand. At this point, don't let more than 6 mos. go by without having him checked. Good luck and please keep us posted.

Renee

[Carmell]

Ditto what the others said. My lay-understanding is that your son would be considered juvenile scoliosis because he's not in adolescence. AIS is typically a term used for true teenagers going through growth spurts. However, AIS is also a generically used term too. I wouldn't get hung up on classifications. He has scoliosis. You need to know why (if any reason) and then deal with it. When you do meet with a ped. orthopedic surgeon, you need to know if there are any bone malformations in the spine (this would be congenital scoliosis). If not, then ask about having an MRI done to rule out any spinal cord or hidden conditions that may complicate treatment for scoliosis. Scoliosis in young children is not common. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Yotam's Mom]

Thanks for your input!

I feel that now I have good solid questions to bring the orthopedist, and I know what tests he should be ordering. If he doesn't go in this direction, I'll demand a referral to a pediatric specialist. In Israel, we have access to some of the best medical services in the world, but if you don't know what to ask for and how to demand it, you'll never even know the specialists even exist!

Our appointment is Oct. 22 -- I'll post after that with an update.

Gigi

[Yotam's Mom]

We went to the orthopedist today, who said the curve is between 10-15* (he didn't measure exactly), and that Yotam's feet are in much worse shape than his back -- he has terrible flatfoot! We'll be getting him remeasured for orthotics soon, and since the summer is over he'll actually be using them. (It's very hard to get a kid to wear shoes with orthotics when the average temperature is 100*). The orthopedist told us to come back in 6 months for a checkup. Meanwhile, I'm taking him to a private specialist in Tel Aviv next month to see if he says the same thing.

The Israeli author David Grossman wrote a book once called "Some Children are Zigzag." Yotam and I have decided to adopt this title as our motto!

Good luck to all of you
Gigi

[jillw]

I'm glad the curve is mild. Hopefully the orthotics will help not only his feet, but his back! Good luck.