Scoliosis Screening Should Make the Grade in Schools
Screening for Scoliosis in Pre-Teens Is Key; More States Need to Adopt School Screening Policy
ROSEMONT, IL--(Marketwire - January 17, 2008) - School screening may be the best tool in
getting pre-teens with scoliosis early treatment. "Early screening does
pick up some scoliosis in the early stages, but it is controversial because
some feel it is not cost effective. That sends a message to society that
it is not important to look at our children's spines. We feel it is
important to catch the disease early," says Dr. Michael Vitale, who
co-authored an informational statement about screening for scoliosis in
adolescents, published in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Dr.
Vitale is the Director of Pediatric Spine Surgery at the Morgan Stanley
Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian and a fellow of the American
Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Scoliosis is the abnormal
curvature of the spine and while it can run in families, the cause is not
known. The disease usually is not physically painful, but it can be
emotionally painful, striking more girls than boys during those socially
awkward pre-teen years. For many people, screening during middle school
years seems a natural way to identify the disease early.
Screening for scoliosis is relatively easy. A trained professional does a
quick back test on a student. The screener looks at a child's spine for
any signs of a curvature. A normal spine looks like a straight "I." A
spine with scoliosis looks more like an "S" or "C." If a curve is
confirmed the student is referred to a doctor for further testing. If
caught early a small curvature of the spine can be monitored and corrected
with a brace. However, if left too long, a larger curvature may develop
and require surgery.
The argument against screening in schools may be as simple as money. About
half the states currently require and pay for adolescents to get screened
for the disease. Some students may be misidentified during screening as
possible scoliosis patients. Once a child is identified in the screening
process, further costs would be necessary to confirm if they actually have
scoliosis. Those costs may include:
-- Primary care visit
-- Orthopaedic surgeon visit
-- X-ray
But the cost of surgery would be far greater.
The problem, as Dr. Vitale sees it, is, "Scoliosis can develop quickly in
some children. This can be missed unless we make a special effort to
examine their spine."
Until now, legislators have waded through information pro and con about
scoliosis screening in schools to form their own conclusions. Now four
major medical associations have joined forces to get the word out about the
importance of screening in schools for scoliosis, giving lawmakers the
information they need to make good decisions. Those groups include The
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the Scoliosis Research
Society (SRS), the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA)
and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). All see the value in school
screening for early detection.
Dr. Vitale hopes decision makers will get the message. "We hope this
statement draws more attention to the issue and gets people thinking about
the potential downside to missing kids with scoliosis. It can be
relatively easy to control a small curve, but the longer we wait treating a
child with a more severe curve it becomes a much bigger problem."