Scoliosis - Causes, Symptoms and treatment options

When an abnormal curve of the spine or backbone is witnessed, it is diagnosed as Scoliosis. Usually, the spine has a normal curve when viewed from both sides that helps ease the movement of the body since the spine or the backbone supports the whole body and its movements. However, when viewed from the front, the backbone should appear straight. A person suffering from Scoliosis faces abnormal curves and has a bent body either forward or backward forming either a “C” or an “S” shape in the spine.

It is most commonly found among girls or people above 10 years of age. It is sometimes hereditary but the severity of the curve has no correlation from what one generation has to the next. Scoliosis can be found among teens and adults.

Causes of scoliosis:

In most cases, the causes of Scoliosis are unknown. The types of Scoliosis are defined by the various age groups of patients. Depending on the age, Scoliosis may be termed as Juvenile scoliosis and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The fetal development of the spine leads to neuromuscular scoliosis that happens due to birth defects, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, or Marfan's disease. The degenerative adult scoliosis can be the result of arthritis or due to abnormal bone spurs. The osteoid osteoma, a tumor in the spine also causes the abnormal curvature of the spine.

Symptoms of Scoliosis:

The most common symptom of Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of spine. Scoliosis may cause the head to appear off center and in some cases; one hip or shoulder is found tilted. If there is a severe scoliosis followed by scoliosis pain, it may lead to abnormalities that can affect the functions of the heart and the lungs.

Treatment of Scoliosis:

The usual treatment for this disease is the scoliosis surgery performed by the scoliosis specialist. Scoliosis bracing is the another kind of treatment that can be recommended by the scoliosis specialist for patients with

1. A curve that measures 25 to 40 degrees, and;
2. A lot of growth remaining (patients who are skeletally immature).

However, Scoliosis bracing is only performed to stop the progression of the curves in a developing child who are still skeletally immature. Therefore, it can only be used to treat younger children. Anyone who suffers from back pain should not ignore the pain since this can already be a symptom of scoliosis. Find out the best ways on how to get treatments and have some tests and x-rays done to find the cause of your back pain.