Teenagers With Scoliosis
Bad body image does not often relate to the extent of the spinal curve. Your adolescent might have a minor existing curve and be bothered by their body image. He could decline to wear tight tops or bathing suits. On the contrary, she might have a major spinal deformity and alterations to his body shape without having issues with his body image.
Source: rawpixel.com
Impact Of Scoliosis On Teenagers
Adolescent idiopathic or even congenital scoliosis significantly impacts the shape of an adolescent’s body – his shoulder blade, hips, rib cage, and definitely his back. Often, these alterations can impact the way teens with scoliosis curves perceive their body images and themselves as well.
Emotional Issues
Having been diagnosed with this disease may significantly induce stress. When he was previously diagnosed, your patient child could have felt fear, withdrawal, anxiety, and depression. These emotions could improve eventually.
If your child needs to don braces before surgical treatment, they could face more challenges, such as feeling indifferent, teasing and bullying by their schoolmates, and arguing with you as parents about why he has to wear the brace.
If teens with scoliosis require obvious surgery, here are some issues they will need to face:
- Concerns about having to miss school or fail in school
- Problems with activities that he won’t be able to perform following surgery
- Fear of having the surgery, including its risks
- Problems concerning pain following surgery
Other concerns that would make it challenging to adjust in addition to the mental health after scoliosis diagnosis include:
- Past challenges with managing other circumstances
- Denial, which means declining to acknowledge the actual diagnosis and its treatment
- Constant family problems
- Prolonged diagnosis scoliosis treatment
- History of being ridiculed or badgered at school
- You, your adolescent, or other family members have a pre-existing mental health condition like depression, eating disorder, or anxiety, among others.
Conversely, not all diagnosed adolescents respond negatively.
A certain study revealed that about 40% of teens were not worried about being diagnosed with severe curves or large curve progression condition, and 50% of teens that have undergone surgery claimed that they felt more free and mature. Nevertheless, if you are troubled or if your adolescent has shared his worries with you, be sure that you inform his surgeon as soon as possible.
Teenagers Handling The Anxiety
Research shows that it is typical for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis to have increased stress levels before having surgery. Indications of stress include restlessness, worry, irritability, tension, nervousness, and tension. These signs and symptoms are occasionally felt as depression or anxiety.
Source: raisingarizonakids.com
Learning to deal with stress requires practice. Your youngster might find it beneficial to think about and learn techniques for managing stress before going into several different types of surgery. These techniques can also be utilized to deal with pain experienced following surgery.
Knowing what to anticipate from the surgery for severe scoliosis can tremendously help children be more relieved and confident about the outcomes. Urge your adolescent always to ask questions and be assertive about any concerns he has before his surgery, may it be back surgery or spinal fusion surgery. It may also be helpful for you and your youngster to first study further curve progression and determine the reasons why your adolescent needs surgery. It could be based on your family history, on the current child’s spinal curve magnitude, or genetic and environmental factors.
Scoliosis Surgery And Recovery
Being admitted to the hospital and undergo physical examination (such as x rays) can be tough for kids, particularly adolescents. Adolescence is a period when peer relationships, privacy, independence, and body image are crucially important. Surgery and recovery from that can affect each aspect as teenagers rely on others to meet their standards, time required to be away from school, and experience modifications in a bad posture of physical appearance.
In the hospital, your teen is urged to:
- Express how he feels with friends and family or perhaps the community’s social worker.
- Learn and practice stress management techniques when he feels frustrated, hurt, or overwhelmed.
- Stay in touch with family and friends.
- Remember that being in the hospital is not permanent
- Find ways to distract himself. The hospital has different interesting spaces for him and the entire family and fun activities that can be done in your teen’s room. Your youngster can also do his projects and homework while he’s admitted.
Keep in mind that your adolescent needs a care team and support from his family after his surgery for at least 4 weeks, as he may be feeling weak and defenseless.
Just imagine the amount of pressure of wearing metal rods only to get rid of entire spine curves in the body. Some deal with small curves on one side ribs, pelvis, one hip, side to side curve, and disfigurement of bones.
Occasionally, the vulnerability could come across as violence, confusion, or anger. Your adolescent might not verbally express his emotions of anxiety and stress. You may find that he is feeling stressed by observing his behavior. Thus regular checkups are required at this stage.
Indications of stress in patients, particularly children, youngsters, and adolescents may include headaches, stomach problems, irritability, mood changes, problems at school, constant crying, changes in sleep patterns, and difficulty concentrating, among others.
Source: myhealthystate.org
Teens need care and support after their back surgery
Please find out how your adolescent is feeling by hearing out his concerns and encouraging free-flowing conversation. Avoid interruptions like using phones while talking with your youngster. You can’t fix every issue, but you can accept and understand your loved one and what he’s going through, especially on cases of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
As parents, we can also mirror positive strategies for handling our stress. Don’t forget to take care of yourself, deal with daily demands, and ask for help when you need it. As your adolescent recuperates, incite a gradual return to his usual activities in and out of school, including activities among his peers.
As scoliosis research society experts often say, you should support what your adolescent is doing positively and the improvements he is making while he is recuperating.
Final Thoughts
Talking With A Counselor Or Social Worker Before Surgery Helps
Teen counseling with a counselor or social worker is available to help adolescents and their families in dealing with the issues that may emerge during surgery. Your adolescent may tell you that he wants to talk to a counselor before he goes into surgery or wants to see a social worker while he is in the hospital. The social worker can guide you and your youngster with tough emotions, promote your family’s needs, deal with stress, and provide you with connections to support and resources from the local community.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can you fix scoliosis at 15?
Can you develop scoliosis as a teenager?
Is scoliosis worse after puberty?
At what age can scoliosis be corrected?
Will scoliosis get worse with age?
What happens if you dont treat the significant type of scoliosis?
Does adolescent scoliosis go away?
Can you live a normal life with scoliosis?
Is scoliosis a disability?
Does mild scoliosis affect periods?