Scoliosis

It was rainy in the fall and I was 14. I was on the high school swim team, and another girl from the team had recently been diagnosed with scoliosis. I was stretching on the side of the pool deck, and a team parent walked over to me, asking if she could give me a scoliosis screening. I said sure and she had me bend over and touch my toes while she checked my spine. When I stood up, she said that I had a little bit of a curve, but nothing to worry about. I went back to swimming, but her words stuck with me. I started to pay more attention to my posture and I noticed that I was always tilting my head to one side.

I’m not sure how long I had been tilting my head to the side, but it wasn’t something I had ever noticed before. As I paid more attention to it, I realized that it was really hard to keep my head straight. I would start out holding my head straight, but within a few minutes it would start to tilt to the side again. I worried that I had scoliosis and that eventually I would end up in a wheelchair, like my friend.

I tried to do some research on scoliosis, but most of the information I found online was for adults. I couldn’t find anything that told me if what I was experiencing was normal or not. I finally went back to my team parent and asked her about it. She said that it sounded like I might have a mild form of scoliosis and she suggested that I see a doctor to get checked out.

I know that for a doctor to diagnose me with scoliosis, I would have to have an X-ray. I was very reluctant to get an X-ray because of the radiation exposure. I decided to see if I could correct my head tilt by myself. I started doing exercises to strengthen the muscles on one side of my neck and I also started using a neck brace to keep my head straight. After a few months, I noticed that my head tilt was no longer as noticeable. I was able to keep my head straight for longer periods of time without it tilting to the side.

I am so glad that I was able to correct my head tilt without having to get an X-ray. I know that scoliosis is a serious condition, but I also know that not all cases are as severe as mine. If you are concerned that you might have scoliosis, I encourage you to see a doctor to get checked out. Early diagnosis and treatment can help to prevent the condition from getting worse.

Here are some of the things that I have learned about scoliosis:

Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine.

Scoliosis can range from mild to severe.

The most common type of scoliosis is idiopathic, which means that the cause is unknown.

Scoliosis can be diagnosed with a physical exam and an X-ray.

Treatment for scoliosis depends on the severity of the curve.

If you have any questions about scoliosis, please consult your doctor.