Canada stopped checking kids' spines years ago. Why experts say screening should come back

Angie Chan knew by the way her daughter hunched forward that something wasn't right. 

"I did ask her to bend over and show me her spine," she said. 

Running her fingers along the 13-year-old's back, Chan could feel the way it had curled out of place. 

The diagnosis was obvious to the Vancouver resident — it was scoliosis, an abnormal curving of the spine that tends to happen near the start of puberty. In more severe cases, the way the spine bends can put pressure on the person's heart and lungs. 

Research finds that the condition affects about two to three per cent of teens. In a majority of cases, it's unclear what causes it. 

Chan knows the issue first hand because she had surgery to straighten her own spine about 30 years ago. And it's because of Chan's own diagnosis that she knew her daughter, Isla Hume, was in a race against time to prevent her spine from curving any further. 

Hume wasn't yet a candidate for the surgery as her spine hadn't bent severely. Instead, she was able to try preventative measures like braces and physiotherapy. 

"We definitely didn't want to just sit and wait around," said Chan. 

Parents and those with lived experiences like Chan say that if more resources were put into early detection and preventative measures, kids could avoid an invasive spinal fusion surgery. Canada no longer has regular childhood screening for scoliosis, and other forms or prevention aren't getting the money and attention that surgery does, even though they've been shown to work.

For 20 hours a day, Hume strapped herself into a brace. She also went to physio twice a week and did exercises at home. 

Now, two years later, Chan says that Hume's spine has mostly corrected itself to the point where she doesn't need surgery. 

But many kids aren't lucky enough to catch it early like Hume, which means surgery ends up being inevitable. 

Scoliosis screening used to be standard in schools; the child would bend forward at the waist and be examined for signs like uneven shoulders, ribs or hips.

But in Canada, scoliosis screening in schools stopped decades ago.