ARTICLE
Scoliosis Awareness Month... What a parent needs to know?
Professor Ahmet Alanay
A
ssala Benamara was diagnosed with congenital scoliosis when she was only four months old. By the age of 7, the condition progressed enough to cause neurological injury and made her unable to walk or feel her legs and control her bowel and bladder function. Despite the treatment in her home country, Algeria, severe kyphoscoliosis threatened the young girl to spend her life in a wheelchair. Scoliosis is a spinal deformity that affects around 3% of adolescents. It looks like a sideward curve of the spine. When combined with an outward curvature, it forms kyphoscoliosis. While mild cases might not need any treatment, severe spinal curves that progress over time can be a disabling and life-threatening condition. If left untreated, they cause chronic pain, respiratory
JULY.AUG 2021
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MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT SCOLIOSIS IS A RARE CONDITION AND THE AFFECTED PEOPLE ARE VISIBLY HUNCHED OVER. ON THE CONTRARY, SCOLIOSIS IS THE MOST COMMON SPINAL DEFORMITY DETECTED IN CHILDHOOD.
and cardiac problems, poor quality of life and reduced lifespan. Early detection is the key to successful and less invasive treatment, warns Professor Ahmet Alanay, an eminent specialist in orthopaedics and traumatology at Acibadem Maslak Comprehensive Spine Center. The leading institution for spine care in Turkey is committed to early detection, prevention, and advanced treatment of scoliosis. Every year in June, Acibadem marks Scoliosis Awareness Month, organizing events and providing useful information about the condition. The purpose is to increase public awareness and help parents and medical providers to understand better and recognize faster spinal deformities in children.
Scoliosis facts and myths Most people think that scoliosis is a rare condition and the affected people are visibly
