A mother's instinct told Courtney Strotman something was wrong with her baby. Her daughter, Addyson, was 4 weeks old when Courtney noticed the bump on her back. Courtney's husband, Brandon, tried to ease her fears, telling her it was just a muscle. But Courtney insisted it was something more. Five months later, doctors at Cincinnati Children's diagnosed Addyson with infantile scoliosis. An X-ray measured the curve in Addyson's spine at 26 degrees. Two months later, it had worsened to 42 degrees. The Strotmans' options were to do nothing and face the complications of spinal deformity, to put growing rods in Addyson's spine, or to try to correct the problem with a series of casts that their baby would wear for about a year. They decided on casting, a method that is quickly becoming the preferred treatment for early onset scoliosis. Using the Mehta casting technique can control curves successfully without the need for surgery.
