Question:
We just found out that our 14-year-old daughter has scoliosis.  By some bizarre coincidence, my sister just found out that her daughter, who’s also 14, has scoliosis, too.  Their curves are about the same:  my daughter’s is 24º and my niece’s is 25º.

It’s the scoliosis treatments that have me confused:  our doctor said that he would continue to watch my daughter’s curve and that it is highly likely it will get worse.  He said the next step would be a brace.  But my niece’s doctor said that while they would observe her curve, too, she probably would not need any further treatment.

The girls are the same age, so why is there a difference in treatments?  Is our doctor overly cautious, or does my sister’s doctor not know what he’s talking about?
—Klamath Falls, OR

Answer:
That is an interesting coincidence that the cousins were diagnosed at the same time.  I can see why you would be confused by the varying treatment options for scoliosis, especially since there is probably a lot of scoliosis talk in your family circle now.

Even without knowing the specifics of your daughter’s and your niece’s spines, I have a good idea about why your doctors are giving two different treatment options.  Before I begin that…
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