Do You Have Scoliosis That Was Never Diagnosed?

Most schools and pediatric offices screen for scoliosis in kids. However, there are cases that manage to slip through these screening routines. Sometimes a minor case might be overlooked because the symptoms are not that obvious at the time. Sometimes kids are absent from school on screening day and the nurse forgets to follow up. Is it possible that you have a case of scoliosis that was never diagnosed when you were younger? It is. Here are the symptoms that indicate you might be in this situation.

You always lean to one side

Maybe you've noticed that you always seem to lean to one side. Or perhaps others have pointed this out to you. Some people don't realize they lean to one side until they start riding horses or motorcycles, and leaning puts them off-balance. They then have trouble correcting their leaning and realize it's something they have always done. This leaning can be the result of a curved spine that causes you to collapse your shoulder to one side.

Your ribs stick out

When you look down at your ribcage, are there areas where your ribs seem to poke out or stick out? For some people, scoliosis causes the ribs all along one side of the rib cage to stick out more than on the other side. Your ribs are connected to your spine, so a bend in your spine can cause your ribs to bow out.

Your shoulders are uneven

Have you ever noticed that one of your shoulders sits lower than the other? This can sometimes happen because you over-develop the muscles in one shoulder relative to the other. Baseball players, tennis players, carpenters, and others who use one arm more than the other often experience this. However, if there is no good lifestyle reason for one of your shoulders to be more developed than the other, this imbalance may exist because you have scoliosis. 

You have unexplained back pain

Back pain can be due to sore muscles, herniated discs, and an array of other ailments. However, it can also be due to scoliosis. If you have any of the signs above and also back pain, that could be because you have scoliosis that was never diagnosed.

Scoliosis does not always require surgery to correct. Physical therapy and bracing have come a long way over the past few decades. Talk to a doctor near you to get a diagnosis and treatment.


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