scoliosis screening

[scoliosisat12]

first of allim writing to my school board here they do they bend over at my doctor but most people when i surveyed them sayd that they don't so im writing. i found mine from my mom spotting it in a dance class and it was a harsh day for me. i am sending my leader out on monday and i can't wait to get a responce!!! I'll let yall know when i get something!

[tina_emma_megan]

Scoliosis testing in UK

Scoliosis screening - non-existent in UK.

My daughter Emma is 11 years old and last March underwent corrective
scoliosis (curvature of the spine)surgery for an S curve of 80 degrees and 70 degrees which had been diagnosed the previous March. After a traumatic time, physically and mentally, she is now doing very well and has gained in confidence as well as height. She has started a petition to try and get schools in the UK to test children for scoliosis to try and detect the problem
before it gets to the need for surgery. The doctor has said that Emma
has probably had scoliosis for the past 5 or 6 years and if she had
done the forward bend test it could have been diagnosed earlier. Her
sister who is 6 has now been diagnosed with scoliosis, although mild
they are keeping an eye on it to see if it progresses like Emma's.
Emma would much appreciate if everyone could take a couple of minutes
out of their time to sign her petition which she intends to give to the
Prime Minister to raise this awareness. The petition can be found at
thepetitionsite.com/1/start-testing-for-scoliosis-in-schools

Many thanks and a Happy and Healthy New Year to all. Christine, Emma and Megan

[marmyte]

Scoliosis screening - non-existent in UK.

My daughter Emma is 11 years old and last March underwent corrective
scoliosis (curvature of the spine)surgery for an S curve of 80 degrees and 70 degrees which had been diagnosed the previous March. After a traumatic time, physically and mentally, she is now doing very well and has gained in confidence as well as height. She has started a petition to try and get schools in the UK to test children for scoliosis to try and detect the problem
before it gets to the need for surgery. The doctor has said that Emma
has probably had scoliosis for the past 5 or 6 years and if she had
done the forward bend test it could have been diagnosed earlier. Her
sister who is 6 has now been diagnosed with scoliosis, although mild
they are keeping an eye on it to see if it progresses like Emma's.
Emma would much appreciate if everyone could take a couple of minutes
out of their time to sign her petition which she intends to give to the
Prime Minister to raise this awareness. The petition can be found at
thepetitionsite.com/1/start-testing-for-scoliosis-in-schools

Many thanks and a Happy and Healthy New Year to all. Christine, Emma and Megan

i'll sign your daughter's petition. since i was diagnosed i've wanted to start something and i wrote to the GP who referred me to my surgeon asking for his help. he agreed that something needs to be done but nobody wants to take responsibility for it. i suggested that nurses go round to schools to start a screening programme but the district nurses all threw their hands up and said they didn't want to do it.

my opinion is that the best interim solution would be to raise awareness by ourselves. even if all you do is speak to a few other parents and encourage them to check their children, hopefully the message would get passed on.

the problem a lot of people see with a screening programme is that there could potentially be a lot of unnecessary referrals (meaning this clogs up the orthopaedic surgeons and causes undue stress and worry for patients and their families), but i'm just playing devil's advocate and relaying what i have found out amongst my research. i do believe screening is something which should take place regularly, and by regularly i don't mean annually, as large curves can develop within 12 months in adolescents who are growing quickly.

you may also be interested to see this: http://www.clinicalanswers.nhs.uk/in...?question=2737 which i found a while ago. i had a better link than that initially but i seem to have lost it.

[MATJESNIC]

I understand what you are trying to do. Some curves, when detected early can be treated without surgery. Just so you realize, there are many children who started bracing before they hit puberty and when their curves were still in the 20's and they still went on to get surgery. Of course, there are other options out there besides bracing, such as stapling.

I just want to make the point that finding out early does not always equal avoiding surgery. They are in the process of discovering that some of these children have aggressive, progressive curves while others have the mild type. With that knowledge we will be able to make more informed decisions.

But of course, I agree with you that you still want to find out as early as possible.

[scoliodancer]

hey i heard from one of my doctors that they dont do scoli screenings at school cuz they were giving people false diagnosis. in other words, they didn't catch people that had it, or told people they had it when they didnt. i do agree with you they should start screening again, cuz some people dont get noticed until surgery is the only option. mine was noticed in a dance class, and luckily its minor.

[rachelroonie]

In my school system they do school screenings. That's actually how they caught mine about 3 years ago. I actually just got a brace the last week, and will be wearing it for the next year.

But yes I agree, there should be annual school screenings. So they can catch the problem before surgery is the only option.

[CurvySAT05]

We were examined by our P.E. teachers in 7th grade (girls) and 8th grade (boys) because of the age of growth spurt (I think). If the P.E. teacher had any suspicions they would send you to the district nurse for a re-check and referral to your family physician for further evalutaion. I remember the day that we had our scoli check in 7th grade my P.E. teacher was out on leave and one of the male teachers taught the sub how to do the checks that day (I wonder how many people she missed). I didn't get diagnosed that day...I don't even know if I had it back then.
I had another scoli check my 9th grade year for a sports physical at my primary doctors office. He told me to bend over and touch my toes (noted how flexable I was) and told me I was fine (I don't think he even looked b/c it was less than a second check). Less than a year later (summer before 10th grade) I had another sports physical at school and our team doctor detected the scoli in the blink of an eye! It was already above 35* at this point. My specialist didn't think that a brace would be effective b/c I was "too old" so we waited and watched for it to progress and I had surgery.
I think that all schools should have scoli screenings done by trained professionals (not people who are trained that day) so that those who are diagnosed have the most options available to them. I think that it is better to "over refer" people to get x-rays for possible scoli (and find out they dont have it), than to under refer those who might have scoli and not diagnose it until it is too big and their only option is surgery.