Veerle Geurts (12) from Geldrop wears a brace 23 hours a day to prevent her back from growing crooked. There is a good chance that this will work for Veerle, because her scoliosis was discovered at an early stage thanks to a bend test. The GGD advocates more of these types of screenings in schools. “We hope that we can tackle the policy worldwide,” says orthopedic surgeon Eva Jacobs.
Veerle didn’t notice any problems with her back for years, until one day she had trouble putting on her shoes. “I couldn’t move my back that easily,” she says. At school she was asked to take a bend test by people from the GGD, but she was not exactly looking forward to that. “Poop, I don’t want to have scoliosis,” she thought.
What is scoliosis?
Scoliosis is a curvature in the back where the spine is twisted at an angle instead of straight. Scoliosis can develop or worsen during the growth spurt.
In 2009, the GGDs stopped screening for scoliosis because they believed that early treatment with a brace did not help prevent surgery. It is now clear that a brace can indeed help to prevent surgery. But screening has still not been reintroduced.
Veerle decided to take the test anyway. She had to bend over and then an orthopedist was able to measure her back with a small ruler. The curvature in her back turned out to be so serious that she was fitted with a brace. “I’m very happy that I took the test, because now I don’t have to have surgery,” says the teenager.
Research
The brace that Veerle wears prevents her back from growing more crooked. “It’s like letting a tree grow straight next to a post,” says Eva Jacobs, orthopedic surgeon at Maastricht UMC+. Together with the GGD, several hospitals and schools in Brabant and Limburg, she is conducting research into the effectiveness of the bend tests.
“We have bend tests carried out at various schools. We do a screening for one group and not for the other group. We then look at which children do or do not require surgery,” Jacobs explains. “If children have sufficient growth potential and scoliosis is detected early, surgery can be prevented with a brace and exercise therapy.”
Ester Rijks, youth doctor, society and health at GGD Brabant-Zuidoost, has already seen the first results of the research. “We have already screened 4,100 children and actually see that if scoliosis is discovered at an early stage, some children still have to undergo surgery, but many children can also wear a brace,” says Rijks.
During a bend test, orthopedic surgeon Eva Jacobs (right) measures with a ruler how crooked the back grows (photo: Omroep Brabant).
Impact brace
Yet wearing a brace has a major impact on teenagers. “I cannot move my back easily and when it is warm, it gets very hot,” says Veerle. Rijks also sees that the brace also has an impact on a teenager’s self-image. “For example, if they have to undress during gym,” she says.
Veerle hopes that the bend tests will be carried out at more schools in the future. “If my scoliosis had been discovered a little later, I would have had to have surgery, so I am very happy that I did it. I hope it will happen in more schools.”
Jacobs also has great ambitions with the research. “My greatest hope is that we can tackle the policy worldwide and bend tests will be implemented in all schools,” she dreams.
