What You Need To Know About Scoliosis
If you face into a body-sized mirror and notice your body appear slightly twisted and laterally deviated, it makes you think you have an abnormal, misaligned figure. It’s actually a condition known as scoliosis.
What is Scoliosis?
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Scoliosis is an abnormal hereditary condition in which a spine curves into either side. Normally, a human’s spine appears straight when viewed from the back. In Scoliosis, a spine may show bending into either left or right side in a C-shape or S-shape form.
Scoliosis is actually categorized into different types according to the location of a spinal curve. A spinal curve that appears on the upper back is called Cervical Spine Scoliosis. If it appears on the middle part, it’s known as Thoracic Spine Scoliosis. And if the curve is seen at the lower back, it’s called Lumbar Spine Scoliosis.
According to statistics, 2% of women are generally affected with scoliosis while 0.5% of men develop this condition.
Signs and Symptoms
To help you determine whether you have are on the onset of developing scoliosis, it’s good to lookout for the following signs and symptoms:
- Waistline on one side is not even on the other side
- Shoulders are not leveled and are not on the same height
- One hip is higher and noticeably prominent than the other side
- Head appears off the center over the body
- One side of the rib cage at the back obviously curves than the other side
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Back pain
Causes of Scoliosis
The cause as of why scoliosis appears to men and women is unknown. However, it might be because of two types of scoliosis that are commonly seen in boys and girls developing this condition: nonstructural scoliosis and structural scoliosis.
Nonstructural scoliosis is a type of scoliosis in which there is lateral curvature in the spine without signs of rotation of the vertebrae. It develops if a person experienced a muscle contraction or if his or her leg’s length is not similar to the other leg.
In a structural scoliosis, both lateral curvature and rotation of the vertebrae are obvious. This type is caused by injuries, tissue disorders, metabolic diseases, tumors, infections and rheumatic diseases.
Treatment
Treatment of scoliosis depends on the type and severity of the spine’s curvature. If you develop this condition, your treatment options would be the following:
- Physical Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Bracing
- Surgery
