Scoliosis

Hearing your child has scoliosis is alarming to any parent. POA’s team understands you will likely have questions and concerns – we can help explain and address many of these unknowns for you. Our staff will evaluate your child and custom tailor a spinal solution depending on curve type, severity, and personal concerns.

Non-Operative Spinal Treatments

POA Hawaii believes in the conservative treatment of the spine. Our approach is based on the management of flexibility, alignment, stability, and overall balance of the spine.

Common spinal deformities treated include, but are not limited to:

1. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
2. Congenital scoliosis
3. Early onset scoliosis (infantile & juvenile)
4. Neuromuscular scoliosis
5. Syndromic scoliosis

Evaluations

Your child will be seen in our clinic by an American Board Certified Orthotist with specialized training and extensive experience in spinal orthoses. The examination will include a history, balance and flexibility assessment, x-ray review, postural analysis, and 3D scanning. Please bring any X-rays you may have, as they will aid in both clinical and technical decision making – you can use the camera on your phone to take a clear picture of the x-rays at your physician’s office.

Our Spinal Solutions

Spinal orthoses, or braces, are proven and effective non-surgical treatment options for scoliosis. The ultimate goal of bracing is the prevention of curve progression and avoidance of need for surgical intervention. We believe this is achieved through restoring the spine to a balanced and functional posture.

All of our designs utilize a series of 3-dimensional forces that derotate and straighten the spine for improved postural balance and in-brace curve correction. All of our spinal solutions are custom tailored to meet the unique needs of your child using the most advanced computer aided design and manufacturing techniques available- CAD / CAM.

Our scoliosis designs include, but are not limited to:

1. Day & Nighttime Designs
2. Cheneau style
3. Wilmington style
4. 3D Boston style

Serial Bracing

POA Hawaii offers serial-bracing for children with infantile, juvenile, and early-onset scoliosis as an alternative to Mehta or serial-casting. This allows removal for daily bathing, but requires strict adherence to the wear schedule to achieve successful outcomes. Speak with your pediatric orthopedist to see if this is an option for you and your child.

Physical Therapy & Scoliosis Specific Exercises

The combination of spinal bracing and physical therapy is highly encouraged at our practice. A physical therapist can guide the patient through scoliosis specific exercises used to stretch, de-rotate, elongate and balance the spine. The Schroth Method is one of the more well-known scoliosis specific exercise protocols, and is commonly used with Cheneau and other 3-Dimensional style spinal orthoses.

The real benefits of scoliosis specific exercises simply come from physical therapy focused on:

1. Flexibility
2. Correcting muscular asymmetries and postural balance
3. Postural awareness

Corrective Breathing Exercises

Learning a specialized breathing technique called “Rotational Angular Breathing” will allow you to rotate the spine with your breathing to aid in reshaping the rib cage and surrounding soft tissue.

Contact Us

We are happy to offer an initial assessment at no charge – valid prescription from your doctor required. Call us at (808) 597-1773 or email us at [email protected]