The significant incidence of scoliosis in the adolescent population had prompted the creation of school screening programs in all 50 states. The test has to be easy to perform by multiple examiners with minimal training. Ideally, the outcome of screening programs should confirm that early detection has influenced positively the incidence of kids needing surgery. There is some controversy about the current method of school screening actually meeting these goals. The test for scoliosis screening is simple.
Most parents are capable of doing the screening test with a high degree of accuracy.
The standard test for scoliosis is termed the Adam's Forward Bend Test . Kids are asked to bend over at the waist as if they were touching their toes. The examiner gets their eyes level with the back and looks for one side being higher than the other, or any asymmetry of the back. Even parents with no medical training can detect relatively small curves if they look carefully. The simple answer is that most of the kids at risk are at a stage of their development where they have become modest, private people.