Scoliosis Research Paper

Scoliosis

“Some people have crooked teeth, some people have broken fingers, and I’ve got a back that has my initial on it,” says Shailene Woodley on scoliosis. This actress has suffered from scoliosis since she was fifteen years old and has a thirty-eight degree curvature in her spine. Shailene had to wear a plastic brace for thirteen hours per day until she stopped growing. Scoliosis is the abnormal curvature of the spine, and about three in every 100 children have this disease. Although many people don’t know what scoliosis is, they should learn the causes and types of scoliosis, symptoms, treatments, braces, and surgeries to understand the disease more fully and how it can affect patients’ daily lives. A question frequently asked by
many patients is what the cause is of scoliosis. There are many causes and each of them are classified by a title: Idiopathic scoliosis, congenital scoliosis, neuromuscular scoliosis, and degenerative scoliosis. Idiopathic scoliosis is the most common type of spinal deformities, in fact, about 80% of scoliosis patients are diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis. This type of scoliosis means that the patient's curve has no known cause. Idiopathic scoliosis can occur at any age, from the womb to adulthood. Most idiopathic scoliosis occurs in adolescence while the patient is still growing. Congenital scoliosis is when a curve occurs in the spine while the baby is still developing in the womb. Neuromuscular scoliosis occurs when a patient has another type of disease affecting the spine, like brain or spinal cord disorders. Disorders like Marfan’s syndrome, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, hemivertebra (vertebrae fails to form in the womb), tumors, and other birth defects have a probability of leading to neuromuscular scoliosis. (Jason Highsmith, MD) Scientists today are still looking for the cause of idiopathic scoliosis today. They have studied genetics, growth, muscles, and the nervous system. (US Department of Health and Human Services; National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Some signs and symptoms of scoliosis can be very obvious, like physical deformities, but many can be faint, like pain.
Very noticeable pain in patients’ neck or back area can be signs that the curve in their spine is worsening or moving. If a patient were to experience intolerable pain, they should seek advice from an orthopedic surgeon or doctor. Another symptom patients can have from scoliosis is respiratory problems, or trouble breathing. These symptoms usually only happen when the patient has very severe scoliosis. The reason a patient might have respiratory or digestive problems is because since the spine is attached to the rib cage, the rib bones might shift which causes an abnormally shaped spine. There are also many physical deformities of scoliosis as well as pain and complications in the digestive or respiratory system. Physical deformities may include uneven shoulders, hips, or scapula (shoulder blades), or unevenly spaced arms. These physical deformities cause many patients to not fit in normal clothes correctly. (Scoliosis Research
Society) There is a wide range of treatment options for those with scoliosis. After diagnosis, doctors first look over some of the factors of each treatment option. Doctors usually ask for the patient to get an x-ray to prove even further that the patient has scoliosis. Using programs on computers, doctors measure the angle of each curve in the spine. The higher the degrees, the more extreme treatment will be. Doctors also look at the possible worsening and location of the curve. After discussing all factors thoroughly, doctors can consider their treatment options. The most popular and common treatment is bracing. Other treatments include going to a chiropractor or having the doctor examine and monitor the patient’s curve every six months. Some treatments can be extreme as well, like surgery or therapy. (Jason M. Highsmith, MD) Bracing is the most common and effective non-surgical method in scoliosis treatment.
Bracing is used not to correct the abnormal curve, but to slow its growth. Braces are usually recommended to patients whose curves are still growing and changing. Patients with curve degrees of twenty to forty in their spine are commonly given a brace. (Jason M. Highsmith, MD) There are two types of braces, the Milwaukee brace and the TLSO (thoracolumbosacral brace). The Milwaukee brace is a bulky, metal and plastic brace that commonly goes around the patient’s torso and is connected to a metal bar that reached up to their chin. The TLSO brace is made of fiberglass or plastic and goes around the patient’s torso, underarms, rib cages, lower back, and ribs. (Scoliosis Research
Society) Another treatment option is surgery. Surgery is the most extreme option of all of the treatments, but it is usually only performed in severe cases of scoliosis. Surgery is recommended if the curve if the patient’s spine is over forty degrees and causing pain or discomfort. The main goal from scoliosis surgery is to ultimately straighten the spine and resolve any pain from scoliosis. The most common procedure if scoliosis surgery is spinal fusion. Spinal fusion is when a surgeon fuses two or more vertebrae together so the spine aligns correctly. The surgeon uses metal rods and screws to fuse the spine together. Recovering from spinal surgery could take months because the spine is a very vital part of the human body, and after surgery, it goes through a drastic change. (US Department of Health and Human Services; National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Scoliosis is a widely unknown disease, though many people are diagnosed with it. Scoliosis may be a struggle in many patients lives, but it is important for many people to understand what people may go through every day in their treatments, causes, and symptoms of scoliosis.