Parents Scoliosis Diagnosis for DD

[Trixiebelle]

Anyone here have experience with scoliosis? Trixiebelle was at her annual check up today and her dr noticed her shoulders were uneven. She said she thinks it most likely is a mild curve but ordered X-rays and we had them taken right away.

When I saw them I felt sick and teared up. We are waiting on the curvature measurements from the radiologist. Depending on the degree we will either just monitor or proceed to an orthopedist.

My heart is breaking for her. Gymnastics is her life and she spends hours in the gym and when not there, it's all she thinks of at home. I don't know what this diAgnosis will mean for her. Trixiebelle is a trooper and while sad, she is also matter of fact about it. Like many of the girls here she has big dreams and has been training L7 hoping to compete it this fall.

Waiting is driving us all crazy.

 

[UnoMas]

We have a girl at DD's gym who has scoliosis and she has been doing gym for 4 plus years. The doctors actually say it is good for her to keep doing it as it builds muscle tone. She does have some issues with staying tight and straight but she is a great gymnast and has no plans to quit! Also there is another girl with a milder case who has been in gym 5 plus years and going strong. Not knowing your DD's exact situation, I can't say what, if any, issues she will have but the 2 girls at our gym are doing fine!
Hope it turns out to be a very mild case that requires no intervention!

 

[NGL780309]

Obviously it will depend on your DD's individual situation, but I just wanted to tell you that my good friend's DD had this and continued with gymnastics. She found out when she was a level 6 and about 11 years old. They kept a close watch on it and she had some exercises she had to do. If she got to a certain degree of curvature she would have had to have surgery, but she never did. Gymnastics wise she did 3 years of Level 10 right up through her senior year of high school. She received a college scholarship offer, but had another back problem (herniated disc) that led her to choose to retire instead of college gym. I don't know if the disc problem had any relationship to the scoliosis or not. Best of luck to her.

 

[gym law mom]

I know of several girls that are/have done competitive gymnastics with scoliosis. Certainly each case is different and the girl must be very closely monitered for increase in the curvature during growth spurts. We had 1 girl on the team that had to wear a brace and she worked her hours so she didn't have to be in it during practices.
Let's hope she has a mild case and can keep on with no restrictions.
JMO-I would ask for a referral to a ortho regardless of the degree of curvature.

 

[jdf]

I will second gym law mom--get an orthopedist to keep an eye on it. it may turn out to be so minimal that it hardly matters, but your daughter could benefit from the orthopedists care.

My 12 year old dd has mild scoliosis. She had some back pain, and had pt, which helped, and then the orthopedist recommended a chiropractor, who also helped. she is now pain free (except for her knee, but that is unrelated!)
All three of my children have some (mild) physical issue, and none of them interfere with their lives.

 

[cathiann]

It's possible the x-ray will show nothing--my oldest DD had to go for an x-ray when she was 11 or 12 and it came back just fine.

I have a friend who's daughter DID have scoliosis. She eventually had to quit gymnastics when she had surgery, but was able to continue while wearing the brace (got to take it off during practice)

 

[bogwoppit]

Mine was diagnosed with scoliosis at age 9 and has slowly grown out of it. Have her followed regularly. Many gymnasts have scoliosis, now whether they have it because of gym or gym attracts girls with scoliosis who knows!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

scolio is usually no big deal.

 

[Trixiebelle]

Thanks for the replies and assurances that this is quite common. We did receive the radiology report back and she has 2 curves - thoracolumbar and lumbar and while each curve in itself is very slight, combined they are 15 degrees. As a precaution, her ped referred her to a pediatric ortho to begin monitoring her.

I'll post an update once we've met with the new Dr. Thank you again for you help and reassurance.