An expert is urging parents to check children's backs in order to rule out a condition that could mean they need a back brace.
Caroline Freedman first noticed a curve in her spine during an exercise class. She said a friend noticed while she was bent over her spine looked "uneven".
The teenager looked to her mother for advice, but says she was told to "stand up straight" and to "not be so round shouldered".
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Now a mother herself, Caroline spotted her own daughter's scoliosis when the child was 15. Caroline said: "She had to wear a brace for five months and was told that had I not discovered her curve, her growth would have ceased and I would have missed the opportunity to straighten it without possible surgery.
"The brace worked and corrected her spine to fuse naturally at 22 degrees. She was lucky, and I was beyond relieved she avoided a journey like my own that required three surgeries."
Caroline added: "In the UK we do not check our children’s backs. There is so little awareness and yet it’s simple to spot if you know how to look. Other countries include scoliosis checks at compulsory school medicals."
Caroline, who has written The Scoliosis Handbook, recommends parents make the following checks, while your child has their back towards you and attempts to touch their toes.
- Is the spine straight or the torso veering to one side?
- Can you see virtual symmetry?
- Do shoulders appear uneven?
- Are the centre of the ribs running down the centre of the body?
- Is your child complaining of a pulling feeling across one side of the rib cage?
- Are the hips balanced?
The NHS says you should seek GP advice if you suspect your child has scoliosis. Its guidance says: "It's unlikely that there's anything seriously wrong, but it's best to get it checked out."
The GP will examine the child's back and can refer you to a hospital doctor for help with diagnosis if they suspect scoliosis. An X-ray of the back will be carried out in hospital to check whether the spine is curved and how severe the curve is.
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