Have you noticed your child slouching more than usual as they watch TV?
Or have you heard them complaining about neck or back pain after going back to school?
Children, especially teenagers, experience growing pains and usually, it’s normal.
But sometimes it’s a warning sign of something more serious.
Some of those more serious things are scoliosis and kyphosis. and left untreated they can result in serious consequences for your child.
But how do you know whether your child’s bad posture is “normal”, or whether it’s something that needs urgently addressing?
This blog provides 3 warning signs that your child’s bad posture requires attention, and could be the beginning of pain, limited mobility, and a life ruled by scoliosis or kyphosis.
2 Warning Signs With Bad Posture In Children
Before we get started, you may want to download our special report on bad posture in children, which contains a deeper analysis and cover 7 warning signs.
If you want to head straight there, click HERE to download your free digital copy of this special posture report.
Poor Posture Warning Sign 1 – Your Child’s Shoulders Are At Different Heights Or Positions
This is one quick and easy test you can do without having the person move.
Simply have your child stand straight and face away from you. Then look how the shoulder slope away from the neck…
- Is one shoulder higher than the other?
- Is it the same on both sides, or is one side sloping more than the other?
- Does their head seem to be tipped to the side?
- Is one shoulder more forward than the other?
If there is a little imbalance that’s usually normal.
Most of us have a little bit of an imbalance in our shoulder height due to hand dominance, and this will mean that the dominant side is lower.
What we are looking for is a LARGE difference between the two sides, or if their dominant side is higher than the other shoulder.
You can also spot whether one shoulder is forward or backward more than the other.
Because the spine tips and rotates, a curve in the upper back can cause the shoulders to be uneven.
But a curve in the low back will usually not cause a significant change in shoulder height, so don’t stop here in your inspection of the back.
Poor Posture Warning Sign 2 – Your Child’s Waistline Is Uneven
Moving further down the body and spine, we can look at your child’s waistline to identify any potential issues with their lower back.
Have them stand with their arms relaxed at their sides and look at the angle of their waist.
- Is it the same on the right and the left
- Does one side appear sharper, and the other straighter?
- Are there more skin folds on one side, or does one side look more collapsed?
Many scoliosis curves will affect how the waistline looks and this is a fairly easy test to see.
As long as your child is standing relaxed, it’s fairly reliable in determining if something is going on.
Because a scoliosis curve goes left to right, this often results in one side being scrunched up, and the other being more open.
Prefer To Get An Expert Opinion Rather Than Guessing?
At Align Therapy, we are currently offering a Free Scoliosis Screening where you can speak to one of our expert team.
In the entire state of Utah, there are only 7 people who have the highest level of training for treating scoliosis, and we’re proud to tell you that we have 4 of them!
So if you’re worried about your child’s posture, scared that they’ve got scoliosis, and fearful that they may have surgery in their future, here’s what to do…
Arrange Your Free Scoliosis Screening Now
More Specialist Advice To Ease Your Kyphosis Pain
Read our blog – Kyphosis In Adolescents – What You Need To Know
Read our blog – Scoliosis Exercises – Could These Be The Missing Key To Your Scoliosis Treatment?
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