Reintroduce scoliosis screening in schools
The issue
Please join me in encouraging the Health and Education Ministers to reintroduce scoliosis screening in Australian schools. This condition has become very personal as 3 years ago my daughter who was then aged 13 yrs old received a shock diagnosis of ideopathic (meaning unknown cause) adolescent scoliosis. Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine. A two minute visual assessment called a ‘forward bend test’ identifies early signs of scoliosis and was previously carried out as routine screening in late primary school. Sadly this program stopped. With Adolescent Scoliosis, the abnormal curving occurs during the rapid growth that accompanies adolescence and in many cases it is not noticeable until it has progressed significantly. School screening therefore identifies early signs of scoliosis that can be managed conservatively, in most cases with physiotherapy, exercise and sometimes back bracing, hence avoiding the need for major spinal surgery.
As was the situation in our case, this was unfortunately missed, so by the time the scoliosis was identified it was already severe and in the ‘surgical range’. This has been a 3 year journey so far, involving regular specialist appointments, xrays, physiotherapy and 18 months of difficult bracing 22hours/day until full growth was reached to help ‘halt’ the progression. This inevitably resulted in her undergoing major spinal surgery exactly 12m ago today. She had 8 vertebrae fused and has two long titanium rods and 18 screws in her back for life. This is painful and expensive surgery that has a long recovery time. It therefore also impacts on their physical and social wellbeing and has the potential to affect mental health. Early detection is paramount in preventing the need for such major surgery. Screening is simple, quick, and is associated with no or very little cost. It involves a 30 second visual ‘forward bend assessment’.
This 3 year journey has made me passionate about raising awareness and appealing to our Health and Education Ministers to reintroduce this important health screening program so please support this by sharing and signing this petition. Thankyou
The issue
Please join me in encouraging the Health and Education Ministers to reintroduce scoliosis screening in Australian schools. This condition has become very personal as 3 years ago my daughter who was then aged 13 yrs old received a shock diagnosis of ideopathic (meaning unknown cause) adolescent scoliosis. Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine. A two minute visual assessment called a ‘forward bend test’ identifies early signs of scoliosis and was previously carried out as routine screening in late primary school. Sadly this program stopped. With Adolescent Scoliosis, the abnormal curving occurs during the rapid growth that accompanies adolescence and in many cases it is not noticeable until it has progressed significantly. School screening therefore identifies early signs of scoliosis that can be managed conservatively, in most cases with physiotherapy, exercise and sometimes back bracing, hence avoiding the need for major spinal surgery.
As was the situation in our case, this was unfortunately missed, so by the time the scoliosis was identified it was already severe and in the ‘surgical range’. This has been a 3 year journey so far, involving regular specialist appointments, xrays, physiotherapy and 18 months of difficult bracing 22hours/day until full growth was reached to help ‘halt’ the progression. This inevitably resulted in her undergoing major spinal surgery exactly 12m ago today. She had 8 vertebrae fused and has two long titanium rods and 18 screws in her back for life. This is painful and expensive surgery that has a long recovery time. It therefore also impacts on their physical and social wellbeing and has the potential to affect mental health. Early detection is paramount in preventing the need for such major surgery. Screening is simple, quick, and is associated with no or very little cost. It involves a 30 second visual ‘forward bend assessment’.
This 3 year journey has made me passionate about raising awareness and appealing to our Health and Education Ministers to reintroduce this important health screening program so please support this by sharing and signing this petition. Thankyou
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 10 November 2020