My wife was 13 the first time anyone said the word scoliosis out loud.
By then, the signs had been there for years. A dance teacher who couldn't figure out why she lost her balance coming out of every turn. Dresses that hung crooked, no matter how they were ironed. A pattern of daisies across the chest that never quite sat where it should. A line of well-meaning teachers telling her to stand up straight.
It wasn't a doctor or a school screening that finally caught it. It was her mother. They were at a pool that summer, and she watched her daughter climb out and stretch for a towel — and from across the deck, she saw it. One shoulder blade riding higher than the other. One side of the neck pulling a fraction closer to the ear. Nothing painful. Nothing obvious. The kind of thing you'd miss right up until the moment you couldn't.
That's the story of how the woman I married was diagnosed. And it's the reason I do what I do.
Here’s the thing about adolescent scoliosis: it doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t announce itself. And it most often shows up between ages 10 and 14 — the same years our kids are growing fastest and wearing the loosest clothes. Summer is the one stretch of the year you have a real chance to see it, because swimsuits and rash guards show what t-shirts and hoodies hide.
Summer is actually the one stretch of the year you have a real chance to see it, because swimsuits and tank tops show what hoodies and uniforms hide.
Why this matters before August
About seven million Americans live with scoliosis. It is not rare. Roughly one in six kids who are diagnosed will go on to need active intervention — but no one can tell which child that’s going to be without actually looking at the spine. And here’s what most North Carolina parents don’t realize: North Carolina is not one of the roughly half of US states that mandate scoliosis screening in schools. A CMS school nurse may catch it. She also may not. That responsibility lands with us.
Once August 25 hits, the bandwidth disappears. Soccer starts. Homework starts. Annual physicals get crammed into October. The kid who’d take ten quiet minutes to evaluate in June becomes a Saturday-only window in November.
So here’s the check. It takes thirty seconds.
Do it once this June, before South Charlotte families get pulled into the August 25 CMS back-to-school sprint and the window closes for another year.
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If something looks off
A few things I want South Charlotte parents to know that don’t always get said out loud:
You don’t need a referral. You don’t need certainty. “Watch and wait” without a plan and without measurements is not the same thing as care — and most families I see have been told some version of it for two years before anyone took a real look.
Most kids with scoliosis will not need surgery. There is a substantial range of conservative, non-surgical care that works best when a curve is caught small.
In partnership with Macaroni Kid: a Scoliosis Awareness Month offer
From now through July 17, families who mention Macaroni Kid when scheduling will receive a complimentary scoliosis screening and discounted x-rays if imaging is recommended. Appointments only — to keep the schedule flexible for parents working around summer plans.
Clear Life Scoliosis and Chiropractic Center
8814 Rachel Freeman Way, Suite 103
Charlotte, NC 28278
Phone: 980-368-0766
Best for: kids ages 10–18 who have never had a structural spinal evaluation, plus families who’ve been told to “watch and wait” and want a measured second opinion.
What a first visit involves: a focused postural and structural assessment — different from the bend-and-go check at an annual physical.
June 26 is National Scoliosis Awareness Day. Wear green, screenshot the check above, and send it to one other parent before the August bell rings.
Dr. Justin Dick, DC, is a dad of two and the founder of Clear Life Scoliosis and Chiropractic Center in Steele Creek. He has been in practice for over seven years, is a certified Fellow with the CLEAR Scoliosis Institute and credentialed through ISICO (the International Scientific Spine Institute), and is licensed in both North Carolina and South Carolina. He is the only non-surgical scoliosis reduction specialist with these credentials throughout the Carolinas, and his research has been published in eight medical journals — his work is indexed on PubMed.
