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Scoliosis: the signs in a child, who gets it, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with it
For a parent or caregiver who has noticed that one of a child’s shoulders or hips looks higher, or that one side of the rib cage sticks up when the child bends forward; for a family whose child came home with a note from a school screening; and for anyone just told their child has scoliosis, needs a brace, or may need surgery. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS, part of the NIH) says scoliosis is a sideways curve of the spine, that in most children the cause is not known, and that with treatment, observation and follow-up with the doctor, most children and teens have normal, active lives. This page passes on, by name, what NIAMS says: the signs, who gets it and the causes, how it is diagnosed and who treats it, watching it, a brace, surgery and physical therapy, and living with it. It builds the words to say to a provider, and prints a card for the visit.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- A child who has trouble breathing: call 911 (ours). NIAMS says that if the curve is severe, rarely, some children may develop difficulty breathing.
- New weakness or numbness in the legs, or new trouble controlling the bladder or bowels: get care the same day, at an emergency room if you cannot reach a provider (ours).
- After a fall or an injury, someone cannot move or feel their legs: call 911, and do not move them unless they are in danger (ours).
More help
- Related: A child’s health · Back pain · Juvenile arthritis · Spinal stenosis · Pain, bones and joints.
- School and feelings: Help at school · Letters to the school · Anxiety · Depression.
- Care and costs: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · Symptom diary · Get ready for the appointment.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Pain, a bone or a joint, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for back pain, arthritis, pain that lasts, headaches, broken bones and sickle cell, on one list.
Looking after a baby or child? The pages on this site for a baby or child, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 15, 2026 on NIAMS’s Scoliosis page, both parts: Overview, Symptoms, & Causes and Diagnosis, Treatment, & Steps to Take (NIH, last reviewed July 2023), and on its shorter Spanish twin, Escoliosis (October 2023). Ours: calling 911 for a child who has trouble breathing; getting care the same day for new weakness or numbness in the legs, or new trouble controlling the bladder or bowels; calling 911 when someone cannot move or feel their legs after a fall or injury, and not moving them unless they are in danger; writing down what you noticed and when; bringing the school’s note; putting the next visit on the calendar; asking what a test, brace or surgery would change, its risks and what it costs; putting school requests in writing; 988; and the order of the steps. What we left out: curve sizes in degrees, any brace, device, exercise method, remedy or product by name, and NIAMS’s research pages. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.