Scoliosis is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine. On a positive X-ray, a normal person's spine should be a straight line, and if the spine has a lateral bend of more than 10 degrees, scoliosis can be diagnosed.
The main manifestations of scoliosis are: bilateral asymmetry of the trunk, such as unequal height of both shoulders, bulging back or waist on one side, asymmetry of the chest, asymmetry of waist line, etc., and a small number of people may have symptoms of low back pain.
An epidemiological survey showed that 0 to 10 years of age and puberty are the two fastest stages of children's development, and they are also the fastest periods of scoliosis growth. At present, the incidence of scoliosis in mainland children in adolescence is about 2.4%, and the incidence in girls is much higher than that in boys, and before the age of 8, the incidence ratio between men and women is 1:2, and after the age of 8 years, it is 1:8.
We can have children self-test with a simple movement (forward flexion experiment).
Action essentials: Let the child have his heels together, his legs straight, his torso bent forward by 90 degrees, his hands folded, and his upper limbs perpendicular to the ground. If there is a deformation of the spine, there will be a high asymmetry between the two sides, which is medically called razorback deformity.
First, the harm of scoliosis cannot be ignored
Scoliosis to children and adolescents includes mental and physical aspects of mental aspects: seriously affect the appearance, children will have psychological and spiritual problems; physical aspects: damage to the child's nervous system, may even compress the spinal cord and cause unable to walk, but also cause cardiopulmonary dysfunction and thus affect life expectancy.
Scoliosis must be diagnosed and treated early. Adolescent scoliosis depends on the child's age, bone maturity, and degree of scoliosis. Observation is recommended if the lateral bend is less than 20°, with high bone maturity; if the lateral bend is 20° to 45°, the bone maturity is low, corrective brace treatment is recommended; if the scoliosis is greater than 45° and progresses, or if there is an imbalance, surgery is often required.
Therefore, early detection of spinal deformities and correct treatment are of great significance to the child's life, and parents must pay attention to it.
2. Causes of scoliosis in children
1. Improper posture
Long-term incorrect standing, walking, sitting and writing postures, so that the spine can not get a good rest, easy to cause fatigue damage to the back muscles, so that the normal curvature of the muscle strength on both sides of the fixed spine declines, coupled with the rapid growth of spinal process in adolescence, it is easy to cause abnormal bending.
Among them, postural scoliosis is the most common in children and adolescents, which is closely related to the improper sitting posture of children for a long time. There are many reasons for improper sitting posture, including the height of the desk and chair is not suitable for the height of the child, the classroom lighting is poor, the child is lying close to the desk, etc., which are prone to bending, tilting, turning and other bad sitting postures.
The relevant survey results show that a large proportion of children in middle and primary school students sit in a bad sitting posture such as "sitting in the front half of the chair and leaning forward on the upper body". The main reason for this sitting posture is the lack of storage space for desks and chairs, students put their school bags on the chair, and the school bags occupy half of the chair surface, so that the students' bodies cannot lean on the back of the chair, and they cannot form effective support for the spine.
Even if the school adjusts the desks and chairs according to the student's height, the student is still not guaranteed to have a correct sitting position. After this sitting posture is formed, the occurrence of stooping, hunchback, and spinal lesions increases.
2. Lack of physical exercise
Another major cause of curvature of the spine is the lack of physical exercise, especially the lack of training of low back muscles, and the small muscle strength of the low back is also one of the root causes of scoliosis.
Usually, children do not pay enough attention to physical exercise, sit still and move less, and at the same time, the form of physical activity is single, they do not reach at least three muscle exercises per week, and they are not close to the sun, which are all pathogenic factors.
The prevention and correction of scoliosis through physical exercise will be very effective. For example, you can balance muscle strength by swimming, and you can also increase muscle strength through some strength exercises.
Third, early detection of scoliosis in children
Early scoliosis is not easily detectable, especially when the child is wearing clothes. As a parent, you should pay more attention to your children' observation:
1. Make good use of the "four horizontal and one vertical" observation method
One vertical refers to the spine, and the four transverse include the four lines of shoulders, lower shoulder blades, lumbar fossa, and iliac crest. Parents can use this method to observe whether the child's back is symmetrical: see if the two shoulders are equal height; see whether the lower angle of the two shoulder blades is equal height; see whether the two waist sockets are symmetrical; and see whether the height of the iliac crests on both sides of the pelvis is consistent.
2. Prepare a health management diary
Parents can monitor their children's physical development by keeping a student health management diary. For example, take regular photos of the appearance of the child's spine, record it every once in a while, and compare it with the previous one, so that you can intuitively find problems in the development of the child's spine, so as to achieve early detection and early treatment.
3. Be a good health guardian
First of all, parents should remind their children to maintain the correct posture, sitting posture, standing posture, walking gait, etc. should pay attention to. Pay attention to the sitting posture when learning, do not bend the "erlang legs" when writing homework; at home, also equip children with tables and chairs that match their height, and remind children to stand up and move for 10 minutes every 40 minutes when doing homework. Secondly, you can usually accompany your child to swim, play ball, hang horizontal bar and other sports. In addition, there are some details to pay attention to in life: the bed in which the child sleeps should not be too soft; the pillow should be low and soft. When sleeping, it is advisable to place your child's entire shoulder and back on the pillow to reduce the flexion and extension of the neck; avoid carrying the bag on one shoulder. Long-term carrying a shoulder bag may cause children to have high and low shoulders, followed by scoliosis; usually bask in the sun and eat more calcium-containing foods.
May every child have a healthy body, because this is the most precious treasure in life.