Scoliosis

Scoliosis

Scoliosis can be caused to happen at any age of any person and at any time. When a child is born with it at birth it is called congenital when is caused by vertebral anomalies. It could also develop as a juvenile, adolescent, or adult according to when onset occurred or by having having developed as a secondary symptom of another condition, such cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophyor due to physical trauma. Scoliotic curves greater than 10° affect 2-3% of the population of the United States. The prevalence of curves less than 20° is about equal in males and females. Curves that are greater than 20° affect about one in 2500 people. Curves convex to the right are more common than those to the left, and single or "C" curves are slightly more common than double or "S" curve patterns. Males are more likely to have infantile or juvenile scoliosis, but there is a high female predominance of adolescent scoliosis.
The condition can of the persons spine can be categorized based on convexity, or curvature of the spinal column, with relation to the central axis:

• Dextroscoliosis is a scoliosis with the convexity on the right side.
• Levoscoliosis is a scoliosis with the convexity on the left side.
• Rotoscoliosis (may be used in conjunction with dextroscoliosis and levoscoliosis, e.g. levorotoscoliosis) refers to scoliosis on which the rotation of the vertebrae is particularly pronounced, or is used simply to draw attention to the fact that scoliosis is a complex 3 dimensional problem.

It is most commonly not very easy to find a clear cause to scoliosis. Various causes have been discovered, but none has consensus among scientists as the cause of scoliosis. Scoliosis is more often diagnosed in females and is often seen in patients with cerebral palsy or spina bifita, although this form of scoliosis is different from that seen in children without these conditions. In some cases, scoliosis exists at birth due to a consgenital vertebral anomaly. Occasionally, development of scoliosis during adolescence is due to an underlying anomaly such as a tethered spinal cord, but most often the cause is unknown or idiopathic. In April 2007, researchers at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children identified the first gene associated with idiopathic scoliosis, CHD7, which was a huge medical breakthrough and was the result of as 10-year study.

The signs of scolioses are often very obvious unless it is very discrete. Pain is often common in adulthood, especially if the scoliosis is left untreated. Scoliosis surgery is often performed for cosmetic reasons rather than pain alone as the surgery cannot guarantee pain loss but it can stabilize a curvature and prevent worsening therefore improving one's quality of life. Pain can occur because the muscles try to conform to the way the spine is curving often resulting in muscle spasms. The symptoms of scoliosis can include:

• Uneven musculature on one side of the spine
• A rib "hump" and/or a prominent shoulder blade, caused by rotation of the ribcage in thoracic scoliosis
• Uneven hip, rib cage, and shoulder levels
• Assymetric size or location of breast in females
• Unequal distance between arms and body
• Slow nerve action (in some cases)

Getting examined for scoliosis is very simple. They occasional have examinations at school so they can test everybody in the school and fix it early if you are diagnosed. You are examined by bending over forwards and your spine is looked at for a hump. The prognosis of scoliosis depends on the likelihood of progression. The general rules of progression are that larger curves carry a higher risk of progression than smaller curves, and that thoracic and double primary curves carry a higher risk of progression than single lumbar or thoracolumbar curves. In addition, patients who have not yet reached skeletal maturity have a higher likelihood of progression. You can go one of two routes, either a brace, or undergo surgery. When you wear the brace, it is worn almost permanately but can be removed and is worn until the abnormal curvature to the spine is fixed and back to normal. Surgery is usually indicated for curves that have a high likelihood of progression, curves that cause a significant amount of pain with some regularity, curves that would be cosmetically unacceptable as an adult, curves in patients with spina bifida and cerebral palsy that interfere with sitting and care, and curves that affect physiological functions such as breathing.

http://www.medicinenet.com/scoliosis/article.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/scoliosis/DS00194

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoliosis