Throughout episode 13 we focus on the mild scoliosis x-ray. CLEAR-certified Dr. Dio Kim from Tustin, CA joins Executive Director, Ashley Brewer, for this week's show. Throughout the episode they discuss:
We hope you enjoy the show!
Throughout episode 13 we focus on the mild scoliosis x-ray. CLEAR-certified Dr. Dio Kim from Tustin, CA joins Executive Director, Ashley Brewer, for this week's show. Throughout the episode they discuss:
We hope you enjoy the show!
Hello, beautiful people. Ashley Brewer here, Executive Director of CLEAR Scoliosis Institute, excited to bring to you episode 13. Now, this guest we have had on before, but today he joined me to talk about the mild scoliosis x-ray, and that guest is Dr. Dio Kim. He graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic West in 2000 and practices in Tustin, California. He's been CLEAR-certified since 2011 and along with scoliosis, he specializes in sports and pediatric chiropractic. So without further ado, I bring to you episode 13, The Mild Scoliosis X-ray, with Dr. Dio Kim. Let's do this.
Intro:You're listening to Life Beyond the Curve, a podcast brought to you by CLEAR Scoliosis Institute. Each week, we interview experts in the industry, answer your pressing questions, and empower you to take control of your scoliosis diagnosis and live life to its fullest. Enjoy the show.
Ashley B:Hi, Dr. Dio, welcome back to our show. I'm so glad you were able to join us today.
Dr. Kim:Yeah, thank you so much for having me today, Ashley.
Ashley B:Now, today we are gonna be talking about the mild scoliosis x-ray but before we jump right into that, let's talk about the importance of early detection when it comes to scoliosis. When the condition is in its mildest stage, they say that it's often the most difficult to detect. So what are some of the symptoms of mild scoliosis?
Dr. Kim:Okay. Yes. Um, it is difficult to detect mild scoliosis because, um, it is barely noticeable since it easily hide under the crowding. So, um, if you do not pay close attention to it, one can easily ignore it because oftentimes there are so many, I mean, not many specific symptoms such as pain or discomfort come with it. However, if you know what to look for, it is not that hard, either. So when you're standing right in front of a mirror, look for if your shoulders are the same height, head is centered, hip is, are on same heights and both side of the rib cage is symmetrical. That's why you want to have looking for it. Moreover, um, if you really wants to confirm if you have a scoliosis, uh, you need to take an x-ray. So the x-ray can confirm scoliosis with the Cobb angle and it is more accurate way to detect scoliosis. Since you don't have to guess.
Ashley B:Now I've heard other CLEAR-certified doctors that I work with. I get to work with you guys on a regular basis, and it's awesome, but say we don't want a small problem to become a big problem. And I know from everything that I know working with CLEAR that curve progression is a risk with scoliosis. And we know that one of the most major factors associated with curve progression is growth. So let's talk about that for just a second. Why is it common for a curve to progress while a patient is growing?
Dr. Kim:Um, yeah. Uh, in most of the adolescents, scoliosis is idiopathic and, um, progresses during the puberty. So, um, so many researchers states that, uh, there are lots of things happening during the period of the puberty, such as hormone changes and rapid bone growth. Um, it seems the progression of scoliosis increases when growth spurts takes place before a posture is mature. So that's probably one of the reason why we see more scoliosis among girls than boys. Um, boys takes growth first, a few more years later than girls. So boys take some more time to, develop, um, posture maturity before the growth spurt.
Ashley B:And so is this often a time when you have patients or parents bringing their kids into your clinic to say, Hey, they have scoliosis, or I think they have scoliosis because they are going through all of the hormone changes associated with puberty?
Dr. Kim:So, yes. Um, so, um, there's also so many other factors can involve it, too, but, um, many things that can, uh, bone growth is so fast during those puberty and, um, hormone changes, not going to be associated with it. So I know you can see more progressions on around those, uh, age, um, between like a 10 to 18, you were seeing more, uh, uh, progressions of the puberty. I mean--
Ashley B:I've just heard some parents say over time that it was like this significant posture change happened overnight with my child and I'm guessing that has to do with growth. So let's switch gears a little bit. If someone suspects that they have scoliosis and comes into your clinic to get evaluated for scoliosis, what does this initial evaluation look like?
Dr. Kim:Many cases when patient comes to me into my clinic, um, they already know they have scoliosis. So in that case, um, I always have them make an appointment for a consultation. And during the consultation we discuss about the scoliosis and its treatment options, which includes traditional way and conservative way of treating scoliosis and, um, they would get lots of information before they decide the best treatment options for their situations. Uh, however, uh, if someone does not know if they have a scoliosis, um, I start with taking a brief history and the posture analysis and, um, Adams forward bend test and spinal screening by using scoliometer. And in that time, if I suspect a scoliosis, uh, as I commence to taking an x-rays to confirm the curvatures, uh, then we discuss the treatment options after then.
Ashley B:And so let's talk a little bit about that x-ray, since that's our, our topic for today. You look at these things all day, every day. So, you know a lot about the mild scoliosis x-ray, but as a practitioner, what are you looking at? You, you mentioned the Cobb angle. What is that? Can you describe that for our listeners?
Dr. Kim:Yeah. For the scoliosis, um, when you see the x-ray, um, you will actually notice that the spine is not straight. Um, you may have some, um, side bending curvatures from the x-ray. So we pick the, um, most tilted vertebrae from the top to bottom, and we measure that angle. So if there is more than 10 degrees, then we call or we--most of the time, most of the doctors diagnoses that as a scoliosis. So, um, the mild scoliosis the properties go under like a 20 degrees with Cobb angle. And, um, if you look at that x-ray and measure those Cobb angle, then you've probably going to be, um, finding out how severe the curvature it is. And you probably have better idea to what kind of treatment it needs for, um--
Ashley B:Let's talk for just a second about mild scoliosis. So you were just mentioning that if that Cobb angle or that measurement of the degree of curvature in their spine is more than 10 degrees, it's considered a scoliosis. And depending where you look it's between 10 degrees and 20 or 25, depending where you look and what scale of measurement they're using that classifies it as mild scoliosis. Um, you, as a trained professional can see this very, very well because you look at scoliosis every day, but if I'm a parent and I have no idea about scoliosis, is it just posture that I'm looking at to see if my child may have an indicator of that?
Dr. Kim:I mean, that's probably going to be the easiest way to notice it. Um, lots of parents bring their kids in, uh, when they start to notice that they have a humping back and they have some uneven shoulder heights, and some of them actually is the rare cases, you know, there's some kids having pain with, you know, scoliosis as well.
Ashley B:Okay. And you mentioned most of your patients aren't diagnosed by you. Most of them are diagnosed before they come to your clinic. So where are most of these patients diagnosed or how how does that typically happen?
Dr. Kim:So, um, they probably notice and, um, bring their kids to their primary, um, physicians or pediatricians. And they kind of see that, Oh, you have some scoliosis, maybe come from a couple of x-rays. And that time, you know, when you have a traditional way to treating the scoliosis, um, if it was a mild scoliosis, they probably going to be suggest them to, you know, wait and watch procedure, which means they don't do anything about it. So they spend some time and when he, uh, progress more then they're in hurry, I mean, they have to look for some kind of different treatment options. Then they look for in the online or ask for other doctors, then they end up with CLEAR doctors here. So when they have some, um, um, inquiry about, you know, um, treatment options for CLEAR, then they already know they have scoliosis for like couple of years.
Ashley B:Yeah, and so it's interesting because you bring up that watch and wait is the most common thing that's told to somebody who has mild scoliosis, but yet what we know is that growth is one of the biggest factors for progression. So you're waiting for them to get to this phase of growth until their curve progresses. And either gets to a level in the traditional model where they're saying, okay, let's do some form of scoliosis bracing, or they've reached a surgical level. And at that point, surgery is recommended, but now CLEAR is a vastly different approach. We take a proactive approach to treating scoliosis where we are saying, Hey, don't watch and wait, let's do something about this. Going back to what I said earlier, let's make sure a small problem doesn't become a bigger problem. And so through your proactive, sorry, I hit my microphone, um, through your proactive approach to treating scoliosis, you're able to stabilize curves and even see a curve reduction with many of your patients. And one of my absolute favorite parts about being able to host this podcast and connect with different CLEAR-certified doctors is hearing the stories about your patients in your clinic. And so I would love it if you would be willing to share one or two of those stories with us today about a patient who came into your office with mild scoliosis.
Dr. Kim:Yeah. I absolutely agree with you that, um, remember that, u m, old English saying,"a stitch in time saves nine". So it's very important detect a scoliosis early enough. So, u m, I have some c ase that, u m, actually, u m, h ere i s, uh, here is one of them. So, u m, a 14 years old girl, with a 25 degrees Cobb angle came to this clinic for, u m, CLEAR treatments. After her treatments, u m, h er curvature reduced t o 17 degrees, u h, which is pretty good reductions and both parents and, u m, the patient is fine with the t reatment. However, u h, she has, u m, 12 years old, a younger sister who came i n a t the 17 degrees Cobb angle. And s he started t he CLEAR t reatments at the same time with h er, u m, younger sister and her curvature reduced to five degrees, which is great because the c urvature becomes below 10 degrees. And I talked a little bit earlier today that, you know, doctors diagnose scoliosis if it's greater than 10 degrees of Cobb angle. So in this case, they went through the same treatments for the same timeframe. And, but however, the younger sister respond from the treatment way better than her older sister. Um, it is because she detected it and started treatment for scoliosis earlier than her, um, older sister. And, and I think that it was a very important to factor that, you know, it changing the results of the treatments, even though they went through the same treatment and same timeframe.
Ashley B:Yeah. That's awesome. So to recap that, you had a 14 year old patient come in with a 25 degree curve, went through the same care as her younger sister, got that curve down to 17 degrees. So from 25 to 17, then she went from 17 to five.
Dr. Kim:The younger sister actually, yes.
Ashley B:That's amazing. And I think that speaks to like exactly what we're talking about today is just the importance of early detection and detection before they get into those phases of rapid growth, where we can just see the degree of curvature kind of skyrocket, um, very rapidly because their spine is growing. So thank you for sharing that story. Were the parents happy with those, the results of their kids?
Dr. Kim:Oh yes. They are very happy with it. And in this case, it's very interesting because, um, most of the doctors agree with, um, the scoliosis developed from a combination of genetic and environment factors, but, um, two sisters who actually have the same parents and they grew up in the same family. So, uh, genetic and environmental factors are very identical. That's the one thing that I think of why, you know, those sisters had a different results, even though they went through same treatments for the same timeframe, I think, um, the timing of the treatments affecting the results so much.
Ashley B:Yeah. I agree with you on that. Wow. Well, that's awesome that they were able to come into your clinic and, and get those results. You do bring up something very interesting. Although there hasn't been enough research to prove there's a genetic link, we do see that scoliosis tends to run in families and we refer to it as familial. So the fact that I didn't even think we were going to get into that today, but you brought up two sisters who both have scoliosis. And like you said, they were raised in the same environment and have the same genetic factors, but yet you were able to get different results with them, um, likely because of the early detection on the one side with the one sister. So, awesome. Uh, so just in closing today and to kind of wrap up everything, if someone listening suspects they have scoliosis, or they have just recently been diagnosed with scoliosis, what advice do you have to offer them?
Dr. Kim:Yeah. So, um, yeah, I just talking earlier today, uh, the early detection is avery important, so when you suspect, you know, the kids or yourself has a scoliosis, um, please ask for help from the specialist, do not wait and don't spend any. Like wasting time. So if you are looking for different treatment options for scoliosis, especially in conservative way to treating it, uh, please contact one of CLEAR-certified doctors. Um, they have a lot of experience and knowledge about scoliosis and wait out there for you, and they are more than happy to educate you about different treatment options. I think that would be very important as well.
Ashley B:Yeah, I think that's super important and it is kind of conflicting when, so often people are told, watch and wait, hopefully they're exploring. Hopefully they find us. Hopefully they find this podcast. And if you did, and you are listening, I'm so glad you're exploring your options. And I just encourage you to do what Dr. Dio just said, which is reach out to someone who, who treats scoliosis on a regular basis. And here at CLEAR Scoliosis Institute, our CLEAR-certified doctors provide a non-invasive approach to treating scoliosis and a proactive approach to treating scoliosis. So, uh, Dr. Dio, thank you so much for joining us today. I know we've got a couple more of these that we need to do, and I'm already looking forward to our next episode.
Dr. Kim:Yeah. Thank you so much. And it was my pleasure to have here and speak with you. Thank you very much.
Ashley B:Thank you!