Scoliosis in children causes, symptoms and preventive measures

What causes scoliosis in children?

Scoliosis is often detected during puberty, because this is the stage when the child's spine deforms very quickly. It is estimated that 2-3% of children in this age group may have scoliosis. However, many children come to specialized medical facilities very late due to the subjectivity of their parents.

There are 3 groups of causes of scoliosis in children:

- Group 1: Spontaneous, no clear cause, often appears when children begin to enter puberty.

- Group 2: Children with congenital spinal defects such as hemivertebral defects, spinal fusion... causing scoliosis.

- Group 3: Incorrect sitting posture, carrying too much weight, or desk and chair size not suitable for age, due to rickets, malnutrition, injury from accidents...

Symptoms of scoliosis

Parents can screen their children using simple and easy-to-do techniques.

Have the child take off some of his clothes, leaving his torso and legs exposed, remove his shoes, stand up straight, and bring his heels together.

The examiner observes the shoulders, the shoulder blades, and the iliac crests. In the case of scoliosis, the examiner may see abnormalities such as:

- High and low shoulders, unevenly sloping shoulders;

- The shoulder blades protrude, one higher than the other, the distance from the 2 shoulder blades to the spine is not equal;

- The two iliac crests are not balanced, one is lower than the other. This case may be due to long and short legs, leading to imbalance in the body's center of gravity and postural scoliosis;

- Have the child bend down, the examiner uses his finger to rub along the spines or uses a pen or lipstick to mark the spines. Then have the child stand up straight and observe the marks.

In case of scoliosis, the vertebrae are more or less twisted causing the vertebral spines to be misaligned, the markers are not on a straight line, but are shifted to the right or left.

In fact, it is noted that children's clothing is now loose, making it difficult for adults to recognize abnormalities in children's bodies. Many cases have found abnormalities when children were swimming in the sea, with signs of an unsightly back.

Therefore, when detecting any unusual signs, take your child to a medical facility for a definitive diagnosis, to receive advice on preventive measures and timely treatment. If your child has a 25-degree scoliosis, a spinal brace is needed.

In summary: Scoliosis is not a dangerous disease and does not cause immediate serious harm. However, it will greatly affect the physical and mental health of future generations.

Causes the body's center of gravity to be off-center, making children sit unsteadily, hindering reading and writing, causing visual stress and poor concentration, leading to negative effects on learning outcomes. Affects the functioning of the heart, lungs and the development of the pelvis (especially for girls, it will affect fertility when they grow up). Body imbalance, unbalanced gait, uneven gait, affecting aesthetics.

To prevent scoliosis in children, children need to sit on desks and chairs that are the right size for their height for each grade level.

Create a habit of sitting in the correct posture for children. When sitting, both feet are placed neatly and firmly on the floor, between the calves and thighs forming an optimal angle of 90 degrees (fluctuating between 75 - 105 degrees), the front edge of the chair should be 4 - 6 cm deep into the back edge of the table, the back can lean against the backrest of the chair to increase support, the body is straight, the head and neck are slightly tilted forward, both hands are placed neatly on the table.

If you do not form the right habits from the first days of school, it will be very difficult to correct later on, even if the desk and chair are suitable, the child will still sit incorrectly. Incorrect sitting posture not only causes spinal curvature, but can also lead to other musculoskeletal disorders, increasing the risk of myopia.

Children should not carry backpacks that are too heavy, the weight of the backpack should not exceed 15% of body weight. The school bag must have 2 straps, when using it, children should wear it evenly on both shoulders, avoid wearing it on one side.

Make a specific schedule for studying, playing, working, and resting reasonably at school and at home, suitable for each age group and each level of education. Increase outdoor activities and physical exercise.

Ensure the necessary sleep time according to each age. A reasonable diet, diversity in nutritional value of each meal, especially main meals. In particular, it is necessary to pay attention to foods rich in calcium and vitamin D, these are factors that help bone development during the growth stage./.