Is scoliosis falling through the cracks?
Reading through The Whole-Food Guide to Strong Bones: A Holistic Approach, The Healthy Bones Nutrition Plan and Cookbook: How to Prepare and Combine Whole Foods to Prevent and Treat Osteoporosis Naturally and Your Bones: How You Can Prevent Osteoporosis and Have Strong Bones for Life―Naturally I couldn’t help but notice that these books didn’t reference scoliosis. Degenerative scoliosis can occur in people who sustain osteoporosis.
I recently expanded my scoliosis nutrition research to the world osteoporosis. I’m finding more information on this condition as it pertains to bones and keeping them healthy. Though they are two separate conditions, I do think there are learnings we can take away from osteoporosis treatment and apply to adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
As I was browsing through the CDC’s website – because who doesn’t – I noticed they had no mention of scoliosis on their site. I couldn’t help but think, “doesn’t that seem strange?” I sent the CDC a message to inquire on whether they track scoliosis trends over time. Fortunately, the CDC got back to me to inform me that while they, in fact, do not track scoliosis, that I should check with the Department of Health and Human Services. When I checked them out, my first thought was “this is one of the worst websites I’ve seen.” I did eventually get to a page about scoliosis, but it didn’t have much content that speaks to trends over time. I’m sending them a message to see if they can point me in the right direction. I’m hoping there is a light in this tunnel!
Scoliosis questions I’m pondering:
- If scoliosis is being treated structurally, shouldn’t we be tracking this at a national level?
- I’ve read that scoliosis affects 2-3% of the population. Where does that metric come from and how is it changing over the years?
- Who keeps this data? Where is the ‘truth’ center?
Well friends, I’m not sure if I’m headed down a rabbit hole, but I am curious to learn more about the statistics for scoliosis in America. I’ll keep looking for more resources to figure out what the trends are and any markers that we can begin to identify as precursors to the condition. In the meantime, feel free to check out the books I listed above. I’m currently compiling a list of bone-friendly foods for myself and I’ll share them here with you too!
What are your thoughts on national tracking on scoliosis? Have you found resources you can share?
