Blog • Dec 2, 2025

Commonly Asked Questions after a Scoliosis Diagnosis

Rose McLean, PT, DPT, c/NDT, is co-owner and lead physical therapist at Chicago Pediatric Therapy & Wellness Center, where she has dedicated over 20 years…

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Rose McLean

Rose McLean, PT, DPT, c/NDT, is co-owner and lead physical therapist at Chicago Pediatric Therapy & Wellness Center, where she has dedicated over 20 years to helping children with developmental challenges achieve their movement goals. Rose's specialized focus on pediatric physical therapy, combined with her commitment to multidisciplinary collaboration, has made her a trusted resource for families navigating motor delays, neurological conditions, and complex developmental needs throughout Chicago. Rose earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Northwestern University in Chicago in 2004, where she received rigorous training in both pediatric and neurological rehabilitation. She began her clinical career at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, consistently ranked among America's top pediatric medical centers, where she gained invaluable experience treating children with diverse and medically complex conditions. This foundation shaped her evidence-based, child-centered approach to therapy. Beyond her doctoral training, Rose holds certification in Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT), a specialized intervention approach for children with cerebral palsy, neurological impairments, and other developmental disorders. She also maintains registration with Illinois' Early Intervention Program, allowing her to provide services to infants and toddlers (birth to age 3) in both home and clinic settings. Rose's therapeutic style is distinctively playful and highly individualized. She invests time in understanding each child's personality, interests, and motivators, then designs sessions that feel like play while targeting specific developmental goals. Whether working on strength, balance, coordination, or motor planning, Rose ensures therapy remains engaging and appropriately challenging. In 2014, Rose partnered with her husband Patrick to establish Chicago Pediatric Therapy & Wellness Center, driven by a vision that pediatric therapy should be comprehensive, collaborative, and convenient. She wanted to eliminate the fragmentation families often experience when their child needs multiple therapies—instead offering coordinated care where physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, behavior analysts, and social workers communicate regularly about each child's progress. Rose also prioritized creating community spaces where families can connect and children can learn social skills alongside therapeutic development.

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When your child, preteen, or teen received a diagnosis of scoliosis, you may have asked yourself the following questions:

Why did this happen?
Will they need a brace or surgery?
What else can we do to help?
How long will my child need support for scoliosis?

Read on to find the answers to these commonly asked questions!

Why did this happen?

There are multiple causes for scoliosis. Scoliosis can be caused by genetic syndromes, neuromuscular conditions, or congenital deformities of vertebrae (misshapen spine bones), but the most common type of scoliosis is idiopathic. Idiopathic is a word that means we do not know the cause. This is an area of ongoing research, and we hope to know the answer one day soon.

Therapist takes a closer look and child's spine

Will they need a brace or surgery?

The answer to this question depends on the severity of your child’s curve. The Cobb angle, or degree of curve to the spine measured with X-ray imaging, helps your doctors determine what course of action is best. Typically, curves with a Cobb angle greater than 25 degrees require a brace, and curves with a Cobb angle greater than 45 degrees are considered for surgical intervention. No matter the degree of your child’s scoliosis, physical therapy can help!

What else can we do to help?

Scoliosis specific physical therapy exercises are the best way to improve your child’s outcomes and comfort. Physical therapy for scoliosis aims to slow or halt the progression of the curve while your child is growing. In some cases, physical therapy can even improve the curve and decrease the Cobb angle! Scheduling an assessment with a physical therapist who is knowledgeable and certified in scoliosis specific physical therapy exercises, such as the Schroth Method, is a necessary step in ensuring your child receives the best care.

How long will my child need support for scoliosis?

Scoliosis is a lifelong condition, but puberty is crunch time for intensive intervention. The natural progression of scoliosis without treatment is that the curve will increase in severity until skeletal maturity. Untreated, scoliosis can progress (worsen) very quickly during growth spurts, causing pain and impairment in function as your child ages. Physical therapy intervention for scoliosis at Chicago Pediatric Therapy and Wellness Center will start at a frequency of 1-2 times per week for 6-10 weeks with the option to extend the course if needed. Physical therapy focuses on using your child’s own muscles to create an internal “brace” to improve spinal alignment and slow, halt, or even reverse the scoliotic curve. One of the major goals of physical therapy for scoliosis is to provide hands-on training to you and your child so that you are consistently able to complete the exercises at home. After the initial high frequency of physical therapy sessions, monthly check ins will help keep you on track. Once your child reaches skeletal maturity (done growing), your PT will guide you through home exercises with check ins every 6-12 months.