(NAPSA)—Recent research may bring good newsto the one in every 1,000 children diagnosed with scoliosis and their families. Scoliosis is a musculoskeletal disorder that causes the back to have an abnormalcurve. Symptoms According to Anthony Sin, M.D., board-certified neurosur- geon and spine specialist at Shriners Hospitals for Chil- dren-Shreveport, parents should Scoliosis, an abnormally curved 2, can be here ry. A child spine, uneven hips, a protruding ith a parent or sibling with scoliosis should be checked for it regularly. are not even.” lescents who worea brace with those watch for “a visible curve in the shoulder blade or shoulders that You may notice your child’s clothes are notfitting correctly or that hems are not hanging evenly. In somecases, your child’s spine may appear crooked or his or her ribs may protrude. Treatments Some children with mild spinal curves may require no treatment. For those who do need treatment, your primary pediatrician may refer you to an orthopaedic spine specialist for the best plan based on your child’s age and the degree and pattern of the curve and the type of scoliosis. Common treat- ments include: Observation—If the curve measures less than 25 degrees, typically, no treatment is needed other than doctors examining the child everyfourto six months. Surgery—often with implants. *Bracing—In some cases, physicians recommend their pa- whodid not. In the study, 72 percent whoreceived bracing were suc- cessful.* Those who wore their brace an average of 13 hoursa day had a success rate of 90 to 93 percent. “Knowing—with confidence— that bracing is effective changes the treatment paradigm,” said Matthew Dobbs, M.D., orthopaedic surgeon at Shriners Hospitals for Children—St. Louis and lead inves- tigator for the Shriners Hospitals portion of the study. “We can now say, for a specific patient popula- tion, that we can avoid the need for surgery through bracing.” The study is just one way Shriners Hospitals for Children changes lives every day through innovative pediatric specialty care, world-class research and outstanding medical education. Its 23 facilities throughout North America provide advancedcare for children with orthopaedic condi- tients to befitted for a brace to pre- tions, burns, spinal cord injuries, Hospitals for Children and others, Learn More Further facts are at shriners vent the curve from worsening. A and cleft lip and palate, regardstudy supported by Shriners less of the families’ ability to pay. published in The New England Journal of Medicine, indicates that this can be quite effective. The Bracing in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Trial compared therisk of curve progression in ado- hospitalsforchildren.org. *Treatment was considered suc- cessfulif the participant reached skeletal maturity with his or her curve remaining under 50 degrees.
