Success! Down to 24 degrees!

[Pooka1]

Ask your doctors about any questions you have - they will be your best source for good answers.

I believe her mother said they were not presently working with a surgeon.

They are working with chiros only.

[Pooka1]

You're welcome - and yes a radiograph is an xray. I'm seeing my dr/chiropractor/spinecor certified provider next week - and I also usually get an xray every three months - its been a happy time for me so far! Best to you and your mom.

Are you only going to wear the Spinecor brace for two years?

If you decide to wear it indefinitely will you continue to get quarterly radiographs the rest of your life?

I hope this isn't considered a "hijack."

[Pooka1]

- sorry you and your mom's thread got a little hijacked.

Do you really think the radiograph frequency is tangential to this thread?

[mamamax]

thanks for the facts about raidation as of everyone else i dont know what to say my first question is what is a radiograph if it is a x-ray then yes every three months perscribed by the chiropractor and spincor docters there certified

You're welcome - and yes a radiograph is an xray. I'm seeing my dr/chiropractor/spinecor certified provider next week - and I also usually get an xray every three months - its been a happy time for me so far! Best to you and your mom.

[mamamax]

Im really confused we will all see how everthing goes in 2 weeks

Hi Kid15 - Don't worry ... we discuss all kinds of things here - sorry you and your mom's thread got a little hijacked. Ask your doctors about any questions you have - they will be your best source for good answers. And congratulations to you once again, I am so happy for you!

[Kid_15]

thanks for the facts about raidation as of everyone else i dont know what to say my first question is what is a radiograph if it is a x-ray then yes every three months perscribed by the chiropractor and spincor docters there certified

[mamamax]

Xray Perspective

I don't think I'm going to worry about this xray thing. A typical spine xray exposes a person to approx 1.5 mSv, the average person in the US receives an effective dose of about 3 mSv per year from naturally occurring radioactive materials and cosmic radiation from outer space.

I like this conversation though - opportunity to share some facts (vs fears): http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/safe...m?pg=sfty_xray

To explain it in simple terms, we can compare the radiation exposure from one chest x-ray as equivalent to the amount of radiation exposure one experiences from our natural surroundings in 10 days.

[Kid_15]

Im really confused we will all see how everthing goes in 2 weeks

[Pooka1]

As near as I can tell, the orthopedic surgeon measured the 42* and the chiro measured the 24*. It would be interesting and instructive to ask the surgeon to measure the last 72-hour out of brace radiograph from 3 months ago but especially the 1-week out of brace radiograph to be done this month.

It would also be interesting to have the chiro measure the 42* curve without telling him ahead of time what the measurement is. I'd pay to see that.

[Pooka1]

Yes, that's why I said to have the x-rays evaluated by a "local" orthopedist.

Oh, and if indeed the measurement by the chiropractor turns out to be invalid, please report that to your state medical board or state regulator of chiros, so if this is indeed going on, it can be drummed out of the chiro community and help other people in the process.

Well I was going to say maybe they should try to get the chiro charged with practicing medicine without a license with potentially serious consequences.

[Ballet Mom]

Questionable measurements by chiros AND by the two orthopedic surgeons in Montreal.

Yes, that's why I said to have the x-rays evaluated by a "local" orthopedist.

Oh, and if indeed the measurement by the chiropractor turns out to be invalid, please report that to your state medical board or state regulator of chiros, so if this is indeed going on, it can be drummed out of the chiro community and help other people in the process.

[Pooka1]

I think anyone who is being seen by a chiropractor for their scoliosis "treatment" should have an out-of-brace x-ray preferably taken, but at least evaluated, by a local orthopedic surgeon who specializes in scoliosis.

I agree. As I understand Mom_15, her daughter in not presently under the care of a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, only (unqualified) chiros. Not sure how she sleeps at night but everyone is different.

There seems to me to be a lot of questionable measurements going on in the chiro business with "reduced" Cobb angles being quoted, but in my opinion, no actual change in the look of the spine.

Questionable measurements by chiros AND by the two orthopedic surgeons in Montreal. I had heard that orthopedic surgeons dismiss Spinecor literature but it wasn't until CD posted his experience that I fully understood why nobody believes their numbers. All researchers have is their intellectual honesty and professional integrity. The two up in Montreal don't seem to have that any more within the pediatric orthopedic community. (ETA: Also I think some surgeons tried the brace and abandoned it based on their results. So I don't think questions about the published Spinecor data are the only reason the brace is largely not used by surgeons. Perhaps chiros don't understand how to evaluate the literature? They almost certainly don't have the relevant training and some don't have college degrees.)

If people want a true measurement, and they may not, it behooves them to have the Cobb angle measurements verified by an experienced orthopedist.

And at that appointment with the orthopedist, they could bring up having the x-rays every three months and see what the medical doctor thinks about that.

Excellent points.

What is on the table is she is starting from at best a 42* (if the brace held the curve or if the curve didn't move on its own). The open question is what, if anything, did the PT do during the growth spurt to hold or reduce that number. Until she stops the bracing and PT completely then this remains unknown. Continuing the chiro is not likely a confounder here in my opinion... doesn't matter if that continues in order to determine what the PT did if anything.

[Ballet Mom]

I think anyone who is being seen by a chiropractor for their scoliosis "treatment" should have an out-of-brace x-ray preferably taken, but at least evaluated, by a local orthopedic surgeon who specializes in scoliosis.

There seems to me to be a lot of questionable measurements going on in the chiro business with "reduced" Cobb angles being quoted, but in my opinion, no actual change in the look of the spine.

If people want a true measurement, and they may not, it behooves them to have the Cobb angle measurements verified by an experienced orthopedist.

And at that appointment with the orthopedist, they could bring up having the x-rays every three months and see what the medical doctor thinks about that.

[mariaf]

I agree that x-rays every 3 months, in a patient who is done growing, is a bit higher than "standard protocol".

My son was diagnosed in 2000 and is now 11. During all these years the most often that x-rays were ever recommended were every 4 months.

OK, that's only one less x-ray per year than every 3 months, but he was/is a growing child. I've never heard of anyone who was done growing needing 4 x-rays per year.

Even now, following VBS, he only gets 2 x-rays per year and that is only because he is still growing. If his orthopedic surgeon were to turn around and tell me to have him x-rayed 4 times a year after he is done growing, I would certainly question that.

With all the x-rays my son has received in the past 9 years, radiation exposure is a big concern to me. Of course, I'd want him to have all "necessary" x-rays, but not even one more than that.

To expose a child to more radiation than is necessary is wreckless IMHO. Of course, I'm not qualified (as none of us here are) to determine what number of x-rays is necessary, but I believe standard protocol among doctors is NOT 4 times per year in a patient with no growth remaining.

[Pooka1]

So you are going to wear Spincor for two years and then stop?