Scoliosis Awareness Month

National Scoliosis Awareness Month takes place yearly in June with the goal of highlighting the growing need for education, early detection and awareness to the public about scoliosis and its prevalence within the community. The campaign also unites scoliosis patients, families, physicians, clinicians, institutions and related businesses in collaborative partnerships of local activities, events and grassroots networking throughout the month.

What is Scoliosis?

Since we walk on both feet, our nervous system is always working its way through reflexes and postural control to ensure that our spine is straight from side to side. Every once in awhile, a lateral curvature develops in your spine; if its curvature is larger than 10 degrees, it is considered scoliosis. When a curve is less than 10 degrees, it’s considered a postural change. Scoliosis can also come with lordosis-- which is an abnormal curvature toward the front-- or kyphosis-- an abnormal curvature toward the back. Typically, the vertebrae are rotated. Most of the time, scoliotic curvatures don’t have a known cause; when this is the case, the condition is called idiopathic scoliosis. Sometimes, though, trauma, neurological disease, and tumors are responsible. Functional scoliosis is frequently caused by postural issues, intense muscle spasms, or leg-length inequality. Unfortunately, structural scoliosis doesn’t lessen with postural maneuvers. Both kinds can be idiopathic or have another hidden cause.

Scoliosis Facts

Scoliosis is prevalent, affecting about 3% of the population in the US.
It is the most common spinal deformity.
In the vast majority of cases, scoliosis has no identifiable cause—this is termed idiopathic scoliosis.
It usually starts between the ages of 10 to 15, though it’s also possible to have scoliosis as an infant or to develop scoliosis as an adult.
Scoliosis is diagnosed both males and females.
Females are significantly more likely to have scoliosis curves that progress and need either bracing and/or surgery to reduce the curvature.
In recent years, treatment for scoliosis has made significant advances. Both bracing and surgery are more effective and less invasive than in the past.

Scoliosis Symptoms

Scoliosis can affect your quality of life by reducing activity, creating pain, lowering lung function, or afflicting heart function. Because scoliosis happens most frequently during adolescence, teens with severe spinal deviations are often made fun of by their peers. Luckily, four out of five people with scoliosis have curves that are less than 20 degrees, and are not easily detectable to the untrained eye. These small curves are generally no cause for concern, especially if there are no indicators of further progression. Mild curvatures in young children can worsen very quickly, though, in just a few months. Because of this, frequent checkups are a good idea for this age group.

How Chiropractic Can Help

Chiropractic care can be a great way to manage and relieve pain and discomfort caused by scoliosis. Routine chiropractic care provides patients with scoliosis treatment that's a safe, non-invasive, non-addictive alternative to prescription medications or over-the-counter pain medications (OTCs), which are commonly prescribed to patients to help them manage their pain. Chiropractors deliver a gentle, non-invasive, non-addictive therapy, known as a chiropractic adjustment. Chiropractic adjustments reduce joint restrictions or misalignments in the spine and other joints in the body in an effort to reduce inflammation and improve function of both the affected joint and nervous system. By increasing joint mobility and improving your nervous system function and spinal health, your body has the ability to better manage symptoms caused by scoliosis.Below are some of the health benefits chiropractic care and chiropractic adjustments can provide to scoliosis patients: