

Someone with scoliosis may not feel any change in the spine but instead notice that their clothes don't fit quite right or that their posture is not straight. Scoliosis as it occurs is a painless condition. The typical curve patterns of juvenile and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis are similar with right thoracic and double major curves present most often. As boys mature skeletally at a later age than girls, this means there is a greater risk of curve progression in boys with this type of scoliosis compared to girls. Juvenile idiopathic scoliosis develops in boys at an earlier age than in girls. This type of scoliosis tends to resolve on its own without treatment and it does not get worse with puberty or during growth spurts. Infantile idiopathic scoliosis with the thoracic curve to the left occurs most often in boys observed before one year of age. A major thoracic curve forming before the age of five is most likely to result in other complications. Most scoliotic curves (85 per cent) are to the right when they occur after the age of two years. This hump is most obvious when the child is bent forward at the waist. As the vertebrae rotate, the attached ribs shift causing a noticeable rib bump or hump, as it is called, on one side of the spine. Single curves are almost always in the thoracic region with variable amounts of vertebral rotation. The most common curve in infantile idiopathic scoliosis is in the low thoracic region. In an effort to keep the head in the middle, the spine may compensate by curving the lower part of the spine in the other direction, forming an S-curve. At first, a C-shaped curve may develop causing the shoulders and hips to tilt down on one side. The vertebrae curve to one side and may rotate, which makes the waist, hips, or shoulders appear uneven. Scoliosis can also be congenital (present at birth) or it may develop as a result of another neurological condition such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, or spinal muscular atrophy.Īny part of the spine can be affected by scoliosis, however, most often the thoracic and then lumbar spines are affected. Most often the scoliosis develops in middle or late childhood during a rapid growth spurt. It tends to run in families and is more common in girls than in boys. Idiopathic scoliosis is the most common type of scoliosis and affects about two to three per cent of the population. If the specific cause is unknown, it is termed idiopathic. Sometimes it is not known why a scoliosis develops. Each section of vertebrae, however, the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar, are anatomically a bit different from each other in order to accommodate each area’s particular function for the body.

The increased size helps balance and support the larger muscles that connect to the lower parts of the spine. Each vertebra increases slightly in size from the neck down.

A round block of bone, called the vertebral body, forms the main section of each vertebra. When viewed from the back, the vertebrae form a straight column keeping the head centered over the body.Įach vertebra is made of the same parts. When viewed from the side, the spine forms three curves: The neck, (called the cervical spine) curves slightly inward, the thoracic spine curves outward, and the low back (called the lumbar spine,) like the cervical spine, also curves inward. The spinal column is the body's main upright support. Vertebrae are stacked on top of one another to create the spinal column. The human spine is made up of 24 spinal bones, called vertebrae.
