What is Scoliosis?

Scoliosis is a disorder of the spine in which the vertebrae rotate and a curve is created in either the upper or lower back. Patients can experience a mild case with little pain or disfigurement and little change throughout life or a more severe case, where patients face an increase in curvature, pain and disfigurement which can cause difficulties walking and even breathing.

While scoliosis usually presents itself between 9 and 12 years of age, it can also go undiagnosed until adulthood. Overall, about the same number of men and women are diagnosed with scoliosis, but young women diagnosed as an adolescent or young adult face a progression rate of seven to eight times higher than boys.

The prognosis for most children is generally very good. The majority of children may not need complex treatments but they do need to be evaluated. Most often, we need to either examine the child again in four to six months or, if the child is skeletally mature and the curvature small with a low risk of progression, we can wait longer periods of time to re-examine the child.

Adults with scoliosis face more difficulties than children. Adult patients, particularly women, fall into one of these categories:

• Young women with very large curves who have no pain. The probability of their disease progressing is 80 or 90 percent and that untreated, they may have problems later in life. Treatment options are determined on a case-by-case basis.
• Yong women who have a history of scoliosis who were told their curves would not progress in adulthood. Their curve was stable with no back pain, but after pregnancy things changed. The progesterone produced in pregnancy possibly causes the new curvature. The ligaments become lax during the pregnancy and to prepare for delivery and during this time, the curve progresses. Some of these women are now experiencing pain.
• Women who had a small curve that continued to progress throughout adulthood, but not related to pregnancy. In their 50s, the deformity has become an issue and pain might be affecting their quality of life.

Research has shown that in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, curves more than 50 degrees tend to show steady stepwise progression in adulthood at a rate of about one to two degrees a year. Although many smaller curves tend to remain stable into adulthood, there are some that continue to show unexpected adult progression despite falling initially short of the 50 degree magnitude.

Surgery is considered to try to prevent spine deformity progression and diminish spinal deformity.

The surgical procedure most often used to correct adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a posterior spinal fusion with instrumentation and bone grafting.

The Baylor Scoliosis Center offers comprehensive diagnosis of each patient's specific curvature through extensive testing, including specialized X-rays. Each patient is assessed to determine the best treatment options to help you recover and get back to your life - healthier and happier.