Scoliosis Reduced in Boy through Chiropractic
The Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family
Health published a case study on May 25, 2017,
documenting the improvement in scoliosis in a
young boy due to receiving chiropractic care.
The Mayo Clinic website defines this condition
by saying, "Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of
the spine that occurs most often during the
growth spurt just before puberty."
The study authors begin with an interesting
historical overview of scoliosis. "Scoliosis is
a word that stems from the ancient Greek word "skolios"
which means curved or crooked," note the
authors. "The first to describe scoliosis in
writing was Hippocrates (460-370 BC)."
According
to the American Association of Neurological
Surgeons, scoliosis affects 2-3 percent of the
population. The primary age of development is
between 10 and 15 years. Scoliosis occurs at an
even rate between boys and girls but seems to be
more severe on average in girls.
Scoliosis is classified into three types:
neuromuscular, congenital, or idiopathic.
Neuromuscular scoliosis is when the curvature
is secondary to another disease process such as
cerebral palsy, spinal cord trauma, muscular
dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy or spina
bifida. Congenital scoliosis is from a vertebrae
that mal-forms during the development in the
womb. Idiopathic scoliosis accounts for about
80% of all scoliosis and is determined when both
neuromuscular and congenital scoliosis have been
ruled out. This type is usually diagnosed during
puberty.
Medically, the two options for treatment of
scoliosis are bracing and surgery. Bracing is
not effective for correction of a curvature and
is used to try to stop a curve from getting
worse up till the point where the patient is
fully grown. Surgery is a drastic step that
should only be used as a last resort in the most
severe of cases. Surgery has many other long
term issues and must be weighed against how
severe the problem was in the first place.
In this case, a 7-year-old boy with a recent
diagnosis of idiopathic scoliosis was brought to
the chiropractor. There was no associated pain
or complaints. The boy's mother was concerned
due to the diagnosis and that she was told her
son would need to wear a brace to prevent the
curve from getting worse. The child was not
taking any medications and had no other health
issues.
A chiropractic examination was performed which
included postural analysis, orthopedic testing,
motion and static palpation, range of motion,
and a spinal x-ray. The tests showed positive
findings and the x-ray showed a considerable
scoliosis curvature that was measured at 25
degrees. It was determined that there were
subluxations present in the boy's spine, so a
series of 16 chiropractic adjustments were given
over a 5 week period.
After the 16 adjustments, a second spinal x-ray
was taken for comparison. In this new x-ray, the
scoliosis had decreased considerably, going from
25 degrees to just 11 degrees for a improvement
of 14 degrees. Postural analysis also showed
improvements over the initial examination. The
boy continued to receive chiropractic
adjustments at a reduced schedule.
In their conclusion, the authors of the study
wrote, "This case shows a situation in which
chiropractic adjustments seem to have a positive
effect on reduction of the scoliotic curve in
this 7-year-old male. It is possible that the
subluxation plays a role in the development of
scoliosis and managing them accordingly may
improve curvature in certain individuals." |