From Smh.com.au

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Michelle Gellar was treated for scoliosis

Wednesday 23 June 2004, by Webmaster

Go online to check spine

Television star Georgie Parker suffered from its effects. So did Hollywood star Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Both were treated for scoliosis (curvature of the spine), an incurable condition that affects 2.5 per cent of adolescent girls.

Public and private schools in Australia used to screen girls in years 7 and 9 for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), but these programs have been abandoned because of financial restraints.

To ensure scoliosis doesn’t go undetected, the Spine Society of Australia and the Spinecare Foundation have developed an innovative program on the internet to help parents, schools and doctors screen girls between 10 and 13.

Thomas Taylor, the Spinecare Foundation’s medical and scientific advisory committee convener, said Education Minister Dr Brendan Nelson had given his support to the National Self-Detection Program for Scoliosis.

"This is one of the really important things for girls," Professor Taylor said.

"Every school has the internet and we can get the schools to download the brochures and give them out.

"This work used to be done with school nurses and school doctors, but those resources are now gone."

Professor Taylor, the emeritus professor of orthopedics and traumatic surgery at the University of Sydney, said the online self-detection tool was also created for the benefit of general practitioners.

"We aim to make family doctors take over the management of minor curvatures because there is a tendency with all health problems for people to see a specialist," he said.

More than 90 per cent of people affected by scoliosis are female and between 80 and 90 per cent of cases occur in healthy teenagers.

The curvature of the spine normally develops during a teenager’s growth spurt.

Professor Taylor said: "The growth spurt doesn’t cause the condition, it just aggravates it.

"Growth is the key thing."

The best treatment for scoliosis is observation - Professor Taylor said there was no sign to alert the girl or her parents that she had the condition.

"Pain is very, very unusual, that’s why it is important to screen for it," he said.

"If left untreated, it results in really serious deformity.

"We do know without any question that early detection and treatment do achieve better results long-term."

Professor Taylor said there was no need to screen adolescent boys for scoliosis. The outward signs of scoliosis include the head not being centred over the body, one shoulder being higher than the other and one hip being more prominent.

To detect scoliosis, experts recommend the forward bend test.

During this test, the teenager bends as far forward as she can go.

If one side of the upper chest region or lower back region is one centimetre higher than the other, then she may have scoliosis. Girls with scoliosis usually wear a spinal brace, while surgery is required in only one out of three cases.

Professor Taylor said that if left untreated, scoliosis could become severe within two years. "You have to stop it progressing," he said.

The many myths about the causes of scoliosis include postural problems, carrying heavy school bags or from watching too much television.

But experts believe that scoliosis could be genetic in origin.