Scoliosis

What is scoliosis? Scoliosis is when a side to side curvature of the spine is 11 degrees or more. It affects 2-3 percent of the population. Scoliosis is a chronic condition that causes backbones to curve from side to side, usually in an S shape, but also sometimes in a long C. Even though scoliosis is not life-threatening, if it is left untreated the spine could rotate, constricting the rib cage and encroaching on the lungs and heart. Not only does scoliosis affect a person physically, but many people are affected emotionally as well. About one in every ten kids tends to develop scoliosis. Scoliosis seems to affect more girls than boys, and tends to appear most often in children ages 10-15.

The cause of scoliosis is still unknown, although many doctors speculate that it is genetic, because it mostly appears within a family. Another cause of scoliosis could also be vertabral birth defects or nueromuscular diseases.

Symptoms of scoliosis that need to be watched for are not like a cold. You need to watch for one shoulder blade protruding further than the other, one hip that’s higher than the other, a tilted head, or pants and skirts that don’t hang evenly. Routine medical examinations for scoliosis at the ages of 10, 12, 14, and 16 are highly recommended. Girls should be screened at the ages of 10 and 12, and boys at 13 or 14. There are mandatory screening programs in twenty-one states and voluntary in several others.

Eighty percent of people suffering from scoliosis have a form that is known as “idiopathic.” This means that the cause is unknown. Other types of scoliosis are “hyperkyphosis,” which is when the normal rounding of the back is too great. The other is “hyperlordosis,” when the normal forward curving in the lower back is too great. When a scoliosis curve is under 20 degrees it is usually only monitored. Sometimes curves such as these improve on their own, while only 1 in 5 worsen, and only 3 in 1,000 getting bad enough to require treatment. Scoliosis begins to constrict the rib cage and lungs as it approaches 60 degrees. Even when the scoliosis is as severe as a 25 to 40 degree curve, it may not need to be treated. “If an 18-year-old no longer growing has a 30-degree curve, I probably would do no more than monitor it. On the other hand, I’d immediately treat such a curve, and often a slighter one, in a 12-year-old just starting the growth spurt" (Yahiro). If a 40 to 50 degree curve is detected early, it will probably get much worse, fast.

Scoliosis doesn’t only affect people physically, but it also tends to hurt them emotionally, too. Some of them almost feel as outcasts, some of them. But some people it doesn’t affect at all. They’re happy with their life. But a lot of the time people just don’t want to admit that they have a problem, or their parents don’t want to admit it. But the fact is that the sooner scoliosis is treated the less severe it will be when a person is older.

There are many different types of treatments for scoliosis, depending on how severe the case is. Spines that have a twenty degree curve or less are usually just monitored by a doctor. If the curve is twenty-five to fifty degrees a brace is usually prescribed. And for scoliosis curves which are fifty degrees or more sugery is most commonly used. There is also a new “no-brace” technique that uses two parallel rods, hooked on both sides of the spine.

Just a few years ago there was a brace called the Milwaukee brace. This was a cumbersome device, and extended from the hips to the waist and had metal bars along the spine and chest. It did not allow a person to bend over, or even look down. It had to be worn almost constantly, except for a few hours each week to take a shower. Braces have come a long way since then, now only running from below the arms to the waist. For most people that have worn the Milwaukee brace, the new braces are a big improvement.

In the 1980’s there was also experimenting going on with electrical stimulation to try to correct scoliosis. Small electrical transmitters were attached nightly to electrodes that were taped on the surface or surgically implanted under the skin of the patient. The transmitter stimulated the deep back muscles, causing them to contract and pull the spine into alignment. Tests showed that this method did not work effectively.

During surgery to correct a scoliosis curve, a metal rod is attached to the spine. Hooks and wire help hold the back straight and the bar in place while bone chips, taken from the hips, ribs, or spine, help to fuse the vertebrae together so that the back heals properly. It used to be necessary to wear a body cast for nine months after the surgery, but improved techniques now allow a patient to be walking by the third or fourth day.

Recovering after scoliosis surgery used to take at the minimum nine months. Now a patient can leave the hospital in about two weeks! They can do all the activities they used to do in a matter of a few months, instead of a year.

One of the leading researchers of 1985 was Yves Cotrel, who developed a surgical method to correct scoliosis using an intricate series of hooks with a pair of cross-braced rods. Science and doctors now have improved dramatically on Cotrel’s technique. Most doctors also say that there are no “special exercises” that could help to improve scoliosis.

In conclusion, scoliosis should not be ignored. It should be treated accordingly. People with scoliosis should admit to themselves that they do have it and should seek treatment. Look around you, scoliosis may be more common than you think.