AUGUSTA, GA. (WJBF)- June is Scoliosis awareness month.  A good time to focus on the importance of early detection. 

If you’re someone with scoliosis, sometimes great posture can be harder to maintain. But sometimes the signs are not so obvious. That’s why health care leaders are focusing on scoliosis detection during the month of June.

In some cases, scoliosis can be a mild condition. Symptoms may be subtle at first. But for others, signs could be more physical to the eye, than a feeling in your bones.

“They’ll notice that the shoulders will start to slide, or they’ll see a picture and say why is my head moving out like a chicken, because these are all symptoms that you’re moving away from pain,” Walker Chiropractic’s Dr. Chris Walker said.

Bria: Dr. Steven Guyton is the E-R Medical Director at Doctors Hospital. He has worked with scoliosis patients. He says early detection is key to decreasing a spinal curvature. 

“It’s really important to get screened because the earlier you find scoliosis– like many things– the more you can do about it,” Doctors Hospital ER Medical Director Dr. Steven Guyton said.

Scoliosis screening used to be commonplace in schools.

“I think we all remember the screenings we all kind of bend over and look at your spine– that doesn’t always happen these days. If it’s not happening, your primary care can do it, pediatrician can do it. So, even if you don’t think something’s wrong it could be kind of subtle,” Dr. Guyton said.

A spinal curve greater than 25-to-30 degrees is significant, and anything between the 45-to- 50-degree area is considered severe.

“Our job as chiropractors is to stop that from getting any worse because the worst-case scenario is coming in and they’re already at 25, we may only get ‘em to knock down a couple degrees. But, if we can stop them from turning into 20 to 25 to 30 or 40, and needing rods, then that’s what we want to do,” Dr. Walker said.

If you are someone with scoliosis or think you might have it, visit.