National Scoliosis Awareness Day falls today (26). A walk and a series of programmes organised by Sri Lanka Orthopaedic Association and Sri Lanka Spine Society was held on Sunday (23) to raise awareness about Scoliosis.
The National Scoliosis Awareness Day is an annual event that aims to educate the public about the condition, a spinal deformity characterised by abnormal curvature of the spine. This day provides an opportunity to raise awareness, promote early detection, and support patients.
According to Sri Lanka Orthopaedic Association Event Chair Dr. Nirmal Marasinghe and Sri Lanka Orthopaedic Association Secretary Dr. Suneth Chandraratne, Scoliosis is a disfiguring deformity of the spine occurring in young children leading to permanent physical and psychological disability.
The Orthopaedic Surgeons stated that early management and treatment could offer these children near normal life. Some of these children with severe deformities require complex spine surgery for which facilities, technologies and expertise are now available in Sri Lanka.
“However due to lack of awareness of treatment options and social stigma surrounding this condition, often they present late at a very severe stage requiring surgery. We as Orthopedic surgeons believe proper awareness and early detection can prevent severe forms of disease and reduce the number needing surgery for this condition,” the surgeons said.
There are various types of Scoliosis such as a condition caused by defects in the spine (cognitive variant), a condition involving the nerves of the brain or spinal cord (neurological variant), a symptomatic condition caused by several primary symptoms or impairments (symptomatic variant), and the juvenile variant of unknown cause.
Scoliosis surgeries are performed at the Colombo National Hospital, Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital in Colombo, Jaffna Teaching Hospital and Badulla Teaching Hospital and the Health Ministry requests the public to refer suspected scoliosis patients to the Orthopedic Clinic of the nearest Government hospital.
The Scoliosis Awareness Walk started from the premises of Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital, Colombo, passed Lipton Roundabout and proceeded to the College of Surgery, Freedom Avenue, where a special programme was held to raise awareness among the people.
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