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The Canadian Scoliosis Screening Coalition

WHO WE ARE    OUR MISSION   OUR VALUES   OUR CAMPAIGN
SIGNS OF SCOLIOSIS  DIRECTORY OF CLINICAL RESOURCES

A National non-profit Initiative advocating Early Detection
of Scoliosis through Screening of school-age children in Canada.
Let's keep Canadian children healthy.

CANADIANS NEED TO KNOW:

PUBLIC HEALTH IS FAILING & HARMING OUR CHILDREN.
(note: the primary target audience is Health Ministers, especially the Federal Health Minister, Public Health Policy decision makers and Health Professionals. ). Posted March 10, revised Sept 15, 24, Oct 12, 26, Dec 19, 2025.

Across Canada children are suffering in pain and waiting far too long, sometimes years, to get the medical treatment they need. These children with severe Scoliosis are also at risk for poor mental health, from anxiety, depression, body-image disturbances and even suicide ideation and receive no support. Desperate parents are left scrambling to find help for their kids with severe progressive Scoliosis curves, traveling far, out of province and even country, at great cost, searching for help, trying to navigate a disjointed health care system that is in crisis for just the average patient. Many children, fall between the cracks and receive no help or treatment. The crisis has been well-established and covered by the main stream media especially the CBC (or read below) the past few years.

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is the most common form of Scoliosis , a complex 3-dimensional spinal deformity that affects 2-3% of children, millions worldwide. "Approximately one out of every six children diagnosed with scoliosis will have a curve that requires active treatment, sometimes involving surgery." AIS occurs or exhibits in children during puberty from 10-18 years old (or when skeletal growth is finished), the largest growth period in a child's life. AIS is also referred to as Idiopathic Scoliosis. AIS occurs in both boys and girls but it occurs more frequently in girls up to 10X and girls are 5-8X at higher risk of progressing to severe curves. Scoliosis is diagnosed by a full spine x-ray and a measurement of the spinal curve called the Cobb angle. The Cobb angle must be over 10° to meet the diagnosis of Scoliosis. Curves under 20° are considered mild, 25-40° moderate and severe is 45-50°. Read the Links to Medical References on AIS, including publications on other less common forms of Scoliosis in children such as Early Onset Scoliosis (EOS), Congenital and Neuromuscular Scoliosis.

AIS occurs in otherwise healthy children, hence the term "Idiopathic" which means unknown, coined decades ago. Research scientists have now established AIS is a GENETIC condition (has a genetic component). Existing medical literature does not reflect this. So far, three genetic causative variants have been identified and successfully replicated in different ethnic groups in Genome-wide association studies (GWASs). Hence, AIS is a polygenetic as opposed to a monogenetic disorder. However, these genetic variants do not account for disease or curve progression and the pathogenesis is still being investigated. AIS exhibits in different ways, with different curve patterns but typically the spine curves sideways into a C or S shape during puberty. Many research scientists believe AIS is a multifactorial (complex) genetic disease, also referred to as a 'complex trait' where different factors both environmental (one study shows that northern latitude (less sun) affects AIS in girls) and biological factors such as abnormal bone metabolism and endocrine (growth) hormones trigger curve progression (a process referred to as epigenetic) in children with AIS.

Some research scientists are now focusing their attention on establishing biomarkers and endophenotypes to identify patients at high risk for progressing to severe curves to develop prognostic tests and be able to better plan treatments. What is important for the public to know is that AIS is hereditary and the genes can be passed down in families. As a complex trait or multifactorial polygenetic disease, AIS may not exhibit curves in every person. It is important children are tested early if there is family history of Scoliosis and especially if one or more parents has Scoliosis or a spinal deformity. Research studies have found children with AIS have low vitamin D levels, low bone mineral density (Ostopenia), abnormal spinal muscle tissues, abnormal levels of growth hormones, osteoarthritis in the spinal facet joints of the spinal curve and more. See Links to Current Research Publications for references.

AIS starts with small curves that cause no pain which is why most parents miss noticing it. As well, children are dressing and bathing themselves by this age. Most children with AIS will only develop very mild curves that do no progress after skeletal maturity and require no treatment. But at least 10% according to most literature will require medical attention. AIS has an impact on children and families. Read the Links to Publications on the impact AIS has on children. Early detection and early treatment or intervention is critically important. In a small number of children curves can progress rapidly during growth spurts in puberty. Severe thoracic curves causes the attached rib cage to twist and deform, and can affect the lungs and heart, the very organs they are meant to protect. Due to late diagnosis compounded by extremely unethical long wait times for paediatric, complex spinal, surgery, children are developing such extremely severe curves they must undergo the preoperative invasive procedure 'Halo Gravity Traction'to prevent paralysis where (warning graphic images) PINS ARE SCREWED INTO THEIR SKULL attached to a halo ring, then weights attached to the halo ring for the gravity traction for some weeks prior to the major invasive spinal fusion surgery. (See Halo Gravity Traction for more details.). This should NOT be happening to children in Canada.

Undetected & untreated AIS can lead for some children in later-life to chronic pain, respiratory problems, limiting physical functioning, disability, severe deformity, psychosocial suffering and a lower health quality of life. Moderate curves over 26° - 30° at skeletal maturity will continue to progress slowly in adult life from .72 to 1% a year. For these adults with untreated AIS their health qualify-of-life declines as they get older. In Canada, they are not provided with the crucial medical management and treatment support they need. Adults with disabling severe curves have to wait years for life-changing surgery , struggle to find adequate pain management and medical support services and more. Read the Links to Publications on the Long-term impact of AIS. (Also read below the media publications and the Patient testimonials).

This dire public health care neglect of failing to screen early for scoliosis in children has had long-term devastating effects on those who have progressive spinal deformity curves and directly contributed for over four decades in Canada to an ongoing adult health care crisis in spine care in Canada as well. Undetected and untreated teenagers transition to adulthood after age 18 with progressive AIS curves. Curves over 25% at skeletal maturity, untreated, will often continue to progress, slowly, from .72 to 1% a year. Many of these patients when adults develop chronic back pain, limited mobility, suffer a lower quality-of-life, depression and anxiety, body-image problems, socioeconomic loss, and receive a diagnosis of adult scoliosis or Adult Spine Deformity when they seek medical help. The failure to diagnose and treat AIS at its earlier stages in Canadian children and to recognize AIS as a debilitating disorder and lifelong progressive genetic disease for curves over 25% at skeletal maturity is a profound public health failure. There are potentially thousands of adult Canadians who suffer long-term from chronic back pain and even secondary disability, causing a significant socioeconomic burden on society and impacting these patients lives and families significantly, from chronically untreated,and/or undetected and undiagnosed scoliosis.

Canada stopped screening children for Scoliosis in the 1980's. A review by the CTFPHC's precursor gave it a failing grade in 1979 and lastly in 1994. They found no high quality studies proving that screening had any benefits. That is no longer the case. There has been significant technological advances in medicine and increased knowledge of Scoliosis with a better understanding of how it affects quality of life. Past concerns about over-diagnosis can be solved with trained screeners, better screening methods and more accurate screening tools that are now available. And concerns of increased cancer risks due to radiation exposure from repeated spine x-rays are mitigated with new EOS 3-D scanners that emit little radiation. Most major Canadian children's hospitals have acquired EOS scanners and they should be the standard in every Children's hospital. Countries that screen spend less money on health costs as it means more children are braced and less surgeries are performed.

Millions of children, world-wide, in grades 5-7 are screened for Scoliosis annually, including, Hong Kong, Malta, Malaysia, Singapore, Italy, Belgium, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia, Sweden, Spain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Brazil, even Chili and others. Japan has been doing it since 1979. China screens their children. It is no coincidence Japan's children rate as the physically healthiest in the world. Health Canada has not made any recommendations to promote primary care physicians screen children as an annual health check. The last time the Canadian Task Force for Preventative Health Care (CTFPHC) that reports to Health Canada reviewed the topic of scoliosis screening for children was in 1994. Much has changed since then. There is no excuse for our governments to continue to neglect these children and not take responsible action in preventative health care and improvements in health instrastructure.

Twenty-nine US States have school screening programs including Arizona, New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Utah. (see National Scoliosis Foundation Scoliosis Screening Map ). Yet not one Canadian province or territory has a Scoliosis school screening program. In Canada and other countries that do not screen, specialists at paediatric hospitals are finding patients (teens with severe curves) are presenting too late for bracing and the only treatment they can be prescribed is invasive major surgery. Read the Links to Published studies on the Conseqences of Not Screening for Scoliosis from Paediatric hospitals. Early-detection through screening is critical as curves can progress rapidly during puberty AIS has preventative disease burden. Conservative (non-operative) effective proven treatments exist that can help up to two-thirds of children but only if they are diagnosed and treated early to prevent their curves from progressing to a surgical threshold. Read the Links to Publications on Physiotherapeutic Scoliosis-Specific Exercises & Orthotic Bracing. With screening, children with severe progressive curves that require surgery will be treated sooner as bigger curves require longer and more costly surgeries and carry increased risks and complications. However, when children's mild curves are diagnosed earlier they can be treated successfully with conservative methods, please view Figure 1 of a young girl wearing a (TLSO) Boston Orthotic brace that corrected her scoliosis as displayed with the before and after x-rays. (from Weiss HR, Çolak TK, Lay M, Borysov M. Brace treatment for patients with scoliosis: State of the art. S Afr J Physiotherapy. 2021 Oct 26;77(2):1573. doi: 10.4102/sajp.v77i2.1573. PMID: 34859162; PMCID: PMC860318). For children who do require surgery, advances in techniques and hardware have vastly improved since 40 years ago see Links to Paediatric Spinal Deformity Surgery (for AIS) which includes sections on long-term studies and risks and complications.

Screening is cost effective. Screening costs less as Scoliosis-specific physiotherapy and Orthotic bracing costs substantially less then surgery. It makes financial sense for health policy planners as hospital costs will be reduced and the savings can be invested into bracing and physiotherapy and mental health services.

Attention must be drawn to the health inequities that parents and AIS patients face in Canada, from a fragmented pathway to care, family physicians who are not educated about AIS and under-treat or refer patients too late to specialists or to the wrong specialist, to community radiologists making incorrect diagnosis on x-rays resulting in late referrals where growing children are missing the critical window of opportunity for bracing, lack of Schroth certified Physiotherapists in many regions and the financial costs and burden of orthotic braces and Schroth PSSE, loss of income and travel costs parents face.

Health disparities exist for children with Scoliosis from receiving the medical care they need as the cost of Orthotic braces and Schroth physiotherapy, time-sensitive medical treatments, are not covered by most provincial government health programs as surgery is. This is not Universal health care.. Only the province of Quebec covers the cost of orthotic bracing for children. Parents of limited economic means cannot afford these medical treatment devices for their children. These custom spinal braces cost at least 3K and must be replaced several times as a child grows. It is critical Canadian children be diagnosed and treated well before they reach skeletal maturity, before the start of puberty. And equally critical, if not moreso, children with severe curves requiring surgery receive timely treatment. This little known health care crisis and public health care neglect should not be occurring in first world Canada. This is an inexcusable moral failure of public health care that the media has been reporting on the last few years and for many years patient and parent advocates speaking up about.

There has been significant technological advances in treatments for AIS since 1994, including digital AI-powered screening and radiology diagnostic tools to facilitate safer accurate diagnosis and monitoring, increased knowledge of the disease through research studies and how it affects quality of life and enough high quality published evidentiary studies now exist to prove the benefits of screening children for scoliosis outweighs any risks of screening. Public Health officials and Health care professionals should refer to Links to Screening Guideline Publications and learn about the latest technological advances view Developing and Recent Digital Screening, Wearable Devices & Monitoring Tools for AIS.

The Canadian Scoliosis Screening Coalition (CSSC) URGES and REMINDS the Federal Health Minister, the Honourable Marjorie Michel, and all Provincial & Territorial Health Ministers, to review and renew their collective declaration made in 2005 by their predecessors published in Creating a Healthier Canada:Making Prevention a Priority. A Declaration on Prevention and Promotion from Canada’s Ministers of Health and Health Promotion/Healthy Living available on Canada's Public Health Agencys' website. These very guidelines establish the principles and explain the recommendations of preventative healthcare that supports screening Canadian children for scoliosis should exist in Canada.

The Canadian Scoliosis Screening Coalition (CSSC) is calling on the Federal Health Minister, the Honourable Marjorie Michel, to reinsate the Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health Care CTFPHC as soon as possible. The CTFPHC, a highly respected international panel of primary care physicians with expertise in public health care, that reports to PHAC, the Public Health Agency of Canada, was paused (shut-down) on March 4, 2025 by former Health Minister Mark Holland after he had initiated an external review. The CTFPHC plays a crucial role in issuing evidence-based guidelines to primary health care providers on preventative health care measures that benefits Canadians. The Canadian Scoliosis Screening Coalition was drafting a proposal for scoliosis screening to submit to the CTFPHC when it was shutdown. Just the review process for a guideline take many months and up to a year. The Health Minister has issued a statement on June 13, 2025, that the "I have asked PHAC that the modernized Task Force be fully operational by April 2026.". This unreasonable wait for a re-organization is unacceptable. THOUSANDS of children are being harmed and suffering needlessly every year.

The Canadian Scoliosis Screening Coalition is calling on the Federal Health Minister, Health Canada and all Provincial & Territorial Health & Education ministers and Public Health Policy and funding decision-makers, to take moral, ethical, responsible action and legislate the changes required to ensure Canadian kids stay healthy and benefit from the Early-Detection of Scoliosis through Screening, to provide public health education, resources & support for Scoliosis and provide the funding and clinical resources so all children with Scoliosis (spinal deformities), whether idiopathic or neuromuscular, are not forced to wait months or years for life-changing surgery or denied growth-sensitive medical treatment because their parents cannot afford the cost of Schroth Physiotherapy or Orthotic Braces. We are further advocating for Canadian medical academic teaching institutions and the medical community to update medical education curriculum and clinical practice improvement for Scoliosis patients in the professions of Family Medicine, Nursing (practitioners) and Physiotherapy (to include PSSE Schroth) in Canada. Every Canadian child deserves equitable health care and the opportunity to benefit from effective proven preventative health care treatments to achieve the best long-term health outcome possible. Investing in children's health is investing in a better future for Canada. It's been forty years since screening ended in Canada, that's tens of thousands lives affected and denied timely medical care, -it's the 21st century-, it's time to ACT NOW for children with Scoliosis. Read our Mission objectives.

Canada has to do better for our children.

Please read Act Now For Children submitted by a volunteer parent in our coalition.


Presenting:

The CSSC's first educational webinar: "Physiotherapeutic Scoliosis-Specific Exercises based on the Schroth Method (PSSE-Schroth) & Orthotic Bracing for AIS" held April 17, 2025. For Public Health Policy & Decision-makers, Parents, Education & Health Care professionals, the Public & media.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR WEBINAR.


  Presenters:

"...Thousands (of Canadian children) will be diagnosed late this year...thousands will miss out on bracing and PSSE and be waiting for surgery..lack of early/timely diagnosis leads to progression and surgery...timely bracing alters the natural history of scoliosis and decreases the number of surgeries...PSSE is evidence-based and publications state should be added to the standard of care..." - Schroth Physiotherapist 08:42- Andrea Lebel, Ottawa (Canada's first Schroth Physiotherapist, international lecturer, past SOSORT board member & decades-long passionate Early-Detection Scoliosis Screening advocate ) visit her Scoliosis Online Resource Centre

"...Scoliosis is a condition for which conservative treatment can prevent disease burden...we need to improve awareness...early detection...access to specialized care...reinstate...school screening during the critical years... use new technology...change our approach and emphasize prevention...where physiotherapists and Orthotists play a special role.." 101:38- Dr. Jean Ouellet, Paediatric Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon, Shriners Hospital for Children Canada, Professor of Spine Surgery McGill University Health Centre, President of the Canadian Paediatric Spine Society & Chair of the Canadian Scoliosis Screening Coalition

"...Early-Detection is key...success with bracing ('depends on') ...flexibility, age, wear-time (compliance) and type of curve...we're finding with bracing & Schroth we can alter the course of the Scoliosis... bracing is not just to stop curves from getting bigger, we can make them straighter without going the surgical route..." 107:30- Certified Orthotist Trevor DaSilva Z& CPO Maksym Borysav (Mississauga)

"...3D imgaging is a much better experience for the patient...".122:03- Certified Orthotist Rajiv Kalsi (Ottawa)

"...we often introduce the night brace first...if there is curve progression a Chêneau type brace will be added for the daytime...we're (Orthotists) all seeing curve improvement and corrections...that weren't there years ago in literature..." 130:05- Qualified Orthotist Piotr Duma T.P. (Orthotic and Prosthetic Technician), (Montreal)

Media Coverage and Publications: reporting on the health crisis of Scoliosis care in Canada.

CBC News, Anusha Kav, Dec 30, 2022 Alberta woman expected a 6-month wait for surgery. Two painful years later, she's still waiting "MacPhail says she has stalled at number nine on the waiting list. Her symptoms— chronic headaches, back and neck pain, breathing issues, limited mobility and fatigue — have gotten worse, requiring her to take medical leave from work."

CBC News, Caitlin Taylor, Greg Sadler, Travis Dhanraj, Oct 21, 2022 B.C. teenager waited almost 2 years for scoliosis surgery Cael Perry from BC waited two years for surgery to correct his scoliosis, which went from a severe 58° curve (surgeons operate at 45°-50°) at age 15 yrs in Nov 2020 when his mother noticed it and took him to their GP, and two years and referrals later, had rapidly progressed to a dangerous unbelievable severely deforming 108° when he finally had corrective "ELECTIVE" surgery at BC Children's Hospital in Sept 2022 (1). "Dr. Brian Day, an orthopedic surgeon and owner of the Cambie Surgery Centre in Vancouver, has been arguing for over a decade that Canada's health-care system condones pain and suffering... "When you have a deformity like this that"s progressive, it's just unacceptable," said Day, when shown X-rays of Cael's spine. "This kind of picture has to be shown to the politicians and shown to the judiciary and say, 'Are you condoning this?'"

CBC Investigates Patients wait in pain as a surgeon fights to get paid - all in a battle over health-care dollars June 25, 2023 by Lauren Pelley. "Bonnie Ho fears her 18-year-old daughter with scoliosis will also remain stuck in limbo. The young woman was told she may be getting too old to have surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto...In the meantime, Ho's daughter, who CBC News has agreed not to name to protect her privacy, is dealing with debilitating pain and has had suicidal thoughts, her mother says."

CBC Radio White Coat Black ArtPhilip Drost, Feb 25, 2023
'They don't care about me, mom': Teen's scoliosis surgery delayed five times Nathan Gilson’s wait took a mental and physical toll on the entire family. "It was kind of just messing with my everyday life. I couldn't really do many of the activities that my friends were doing. I couldn't sit down at school for an extended amount of time," said Nathan. "I just needed the surgery to get rid of the pain."
"He said, 'Everybody else is more important than me.' And I broke down into tears that night.… That broke me as a parent. - Shelley Gilson"

***CBC Health, Jennifer La Grasse, Amina Zafar, (Oct 1, 2023) CBC News
Canada stopped checking kids' spines years ago. Why experts say screening should come back, Race against time to prevent severe spine curve"...Parents and those with lived experiences...say that if more resources were put into early detection and preventative measures, kids could avoid an invasive spinal fusion surgery... "In an email to CBC News, Jean Ouellet, president of the Canadian Pediatrics Spine Society, said that the organization is pushing to increase early detection and raise awareness of scoliosis. ...Mendoza and El-Hawary say they want to see the government bring back childhood screening, better fund braces and invest in hiring and training physiotherapists."... "Right now, Canadian kids are facing long and painful waits to get spinal surgery — putting them at risk for more complex operations" ...Andrea Lebel, a physiotherapist...says it's "unacceptable" that kids these days aren't getting a timely diagnosis and are then forced to wait months for surgery... A growing body of research shows that certain types of physiotherapy can improve symptoms...physiotherapy is often used with braces to possibly eliminate the need for surgery...But right now, there's a patch-work of funding programs across the country for braces, which can be costly and present a financial barrier for some...

***The Conference Board of Canada No Child Elects to Wait, Timely Access to Pediatric Spinal Surgery, Sept 25, 2023 Conference Board of Canada SEE PAGE 8 An illustrative case: scoliosis surgery "...Scoliosis is an abnormal...curvature of the spine...that develops in infancy or early childhood. It commonly emerges between the ages of 10 and 15 Idiopathic Scoliosis (unknown cause) accounts for approximately 80 per cent of all cases, with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) being the most prevalent form...adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) surgery is the most common reason for elective (planned) pediatric orthopedic surgery...4 in 10 pediatric spinal surgeries are done after the recommended clinical time frame... causes "prolonged suffering, pain, heightened anxiety, and emotional distress experienced by both patients and families." These surgical delays have a great cost to healthcare as well "with an estimated 2,778 children who are waiting for surgery, the estimated cost of delaying pediatric scoliosis surgery to the healthcare system is $44.6 million, In addition, we estimate $1.4 million in lost productivity to the Canadian economy due to added caregiver responsibility."

***CBC Health, The Canadian Press, Posted: Sep 25, 2023,
Canadian kids' spinal surgery waits 'far exceed' recommendations: report"...It is calling for funding to hire more pediatric surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists...Emily Gruenwoldt, CEO of Children"s Healthcare Canada..."I think there's not great awareness of how our system is failing children and youth and the impacts of delays on their development"...Dr. Stefan Parent, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Sainte-Justine Children's Hospital in Montreal, said 200 kids are on the waitlist there. Those with AIS wait up to 18 months for surgery while three years is not uncommon for children with neuromuscular scoliosis, which is associated with other conditions, including cerebral palsy..."There are some patients that have had so much progression that we had to hospitalize them for six weeks prior to surgery, put them in traction. We place a ring around their head and then progressively add weights, up to 50 per cent of their actual weight, and stretch them prior to surgery," he said. "That just should never occur."

Schreiber, S, Somers, E,
Breaking the curve: A call for comprehensive scoliosis awareness and care The Conversation Jan 11, 2024 https://theconversation.com/breaking-the-curve-a-call-for-comprehensive-scoliosis-awareness-and-care-217495 A commentary by Canadian and U.S. scoliosis researchers on the current state of scoliolis detection, care and coverage.."...Despite its widespread prevalence, scoliosis often goes undiagnosed, or has delayed diagnosis.. It also receives limited attention in clinical and public health education, leading to significant gaps in health care...This general lack of awareness has serious implications for thousands of people...Inequities abound in scoliosis care and research..."

CTV News Northern Ontario, Eric Taschner, June 10, 2024, Here is what two North Bay mothers want you to know about Scoliosis Ava was diagnosed after her parents noticed her posture...x-rays found severe scoliosis in May 2023.."We were on a waitlist for almost a year before Ava was able to receive surgery and her curvature actually increased by over 12 degrees in that time," Beattie said... "We had to see the specialist in Ottawa at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). We took a lot of trips to Ottawa and there was a lot of expensive travel bills, hotel bills and wait times that we had before surgery happened."...The two girls' mothers, Stephanie Silverthorn and Nicole Beattie, are co-chairing North Bay's first Scoliosis Awareness Day at the YMCA to highlight the need for screening detection and education about the disease and its prevalence within our communities...."

Ansari K, Singh M, McDermott JR, Gregorczyk JA, Balmaceno-Criss M, Daher M, McDonald CL, Diebo BG, Daniels AH.
Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in adulthood. EFORT Open Rev. 2024 Jul 1;9(7):676-684. doi: 10.1530/EOR-23-0162. PMID: 38949156; PMCID: PMC11297403. "As adolescents with AIS enter adulthood, condition outcomes vary with some experiencing curve stabilization and others noting further curve progression, chronic pain, osteoporosis/fractures, declines in pulmonary and functional capacity, among others. Regular monitoring and individualized management by healthcare professionals are crucial"

***Nadler EB, Kim DJ, Lebel DE, Dermott JA,
The True Cost of Late Presentation in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A 5-Year Follow-up Study J Pediatr Orthop. 2025 Feb 28. doi: 10.1097/BPO.0000000000002937 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40019300/ "Eliminating late presentation of AIS would save at least $2 to $3 million per year at a single institution...Significant cost savings can be found by optimizing the number of patients treated with a brace and minimizing the number of patients that present late as likely surgical candidates. This study provides financial impetus for early AIS detection, decreasing the number of avoidable surgeries. Scoliosis screening recommendations in primary care should be re-examined, alongside the development of educational tools, equipping primary care providers, and youth and their caregivers with appropriate knowledge on how to identify AIS...."

Dunphy, C, Keenan, M, Hunter, D, Ouellet, J, Smit, K, El-Hawary, R, Simmonds, A,
*** Scoliosis Screening: A Review of Current Evidence, Worldwide Practices, and Recommendations for Implementation Across Canada Backhealth Journal of Current Clinical Care Volume 14 Issue 4, 2024 https://www.healthplexus.net/article/scoliosis-screening-review-current-evidence-worldwide-practices-and-recommendations,"...With mounting concerns about long wait times across Canada for surgical correction of scoliosis, interest has grown in maximizing non-operative care. We have investigated the history of scoliosis screening and the controversies surrounding implementation of screening in a Canadian setting. We propose an optimal screening strategy....Early diagnosis provides opportunities for conservative strategies, such as scoliosis-specific physiotherapy and bracing, which may reduce the number of children requiring an operation...Many patients already have curves in the surgical range before the deformity is detected by their family and brought to the attention of healthcare providers. It is well documented that timely bracing can significantly decrease the progression of high-risk curves in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS)...Early detection through school screenings could improve access to timely interventions, reducing the need for surgery and their associated healthcare costs. Even though concerns about overdiagnosis and resource allocation remain valid, these can be mitigated with well designed protocols and proper training for screeners..."

International News from Ireland: note, the UK stopped Scoliosis school screening in the 1980s following Canada and Scoliosis patients have been experiencing simillar dire conditions there if not worse, since. In the recent news, The Journal, Healthcare, March 19, 2025 Senators back bill to create national treatment service for scoliosis The national treatment service envisaged in the bill would provide “timely and effective” inpatient and outpatient treatment of scoliosis for children and adults, including detection, assessment and remedial treatment." CANADIAN HEALTH OFFICIALS TAKE NOTE!

Tragic international News from Ireland: Boy, 9, with Scoliosis Dies After Spending Years Waiting for Life-Saving Surgery: ‘Shameful’ People.com By Vanessa Etienne Published on August 15, 2025 05:28PM EDT ***please watch Dr. Jean Ouellet, MD, Momentum Health App and the Current State of Scoliosis Treatment in Canada April 7, 2024

Lebel A, Kline M, Boucher J, Carberry J, Adulovic N, Dermott JA. Bracing and non-surgical management of scoliosis in Canada: Early detection, access inequities, and the need for interdisciplinary reform. Canadian Prosthetics & Orthotics Journal. 2025; Volume 8, Issue 2, No. 9. https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v8i2.46590 "Abstract: Bracing remains the cornerstone of non-surgical management for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) with an aim to minimize the risk of progression and to avoid spine surgery. In Canada however, one third to half of patients present with curve magnitudes too severe for optimal brace treatment, resulting in higher than necessary surgical volumes. High-cost spine surgeries are fully funded while non-surgical management is not. This Professional Opinion article highlights systemic barriers to early detection that limit opportunity for non-surgical management in Canada and ultimately drive up healthcare spending. In Canada, there is an urgent need for a coordinated national strategy to re-establish routine scoliosis screening, ensure equitable public funding for treatment and expand professional training in non-surgical spinal care...."

Montreal Citynews, Jean-Benoit Legault, The Canadian Press, posted June 25, 2025
***Medical experts point to gaps in scoliosis screening for Quebec children Scoliosis screening in children in Quebec is lacking, laments a specialist, meaning that many are seen so late that only surgery is available “There’s been a rebound in the number of patients, and children are presenting too late,” summarized Dr. Jean Ouellet, an orthopedic surgeon at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.“ Scoliosis has not been screened in Quebec schools for about 40 years, partly because it was long believed that the progression of the disease was irreversible. We now know that this is false...if the problem is detected early enough and corrective measures are implemented, three out of four children will avoid the knife. Studies show that if we screen them early and are able to get them into a brace, we can minimize what we call the medical burden of scoliosis...a pan-Canadian coalition was created, which also includes Sainte-Justine Hospital, to get a screening program back on track, especially during the growth spurt in young people...the problem can worsen to the point of becoming obvious to uninitiated children like parents, teachers, or coaches. Unfortunately, it then becomes apparent very, very late. Parents are therefore encouraged to keep an eye out...even if a child appears healthy, they will very rarely be seen by a doctor. This is especially true in the current, well-known context of the healthcare system, where even those who need to see a doctor struggle to do so...About 40 per cent of the patients we see don’t have scoliosis...But for 30 per cent of those we see, it’s already too late and we can only offer them surgery. even if the child is seen by a healthcare professional, some “say ‘we’ll wait until you’re done growing,’ but it’s too late,” said Dr. Ouellet... “We really need to catch this early, start braces very early, to be able to change the natural history of scoliosis”.