Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine that. While scoliosis can be caused by conditions such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, the cause of most scoliosis is unknown.

About Scoliosis

Scoliosis is a type of spinal deformity where the spine becomes abnormally curved from side to side into a "C" or an "S" shape. The spinal deformity is ten times more common in females espicially the idiopathic type.

Most cases of scoliosis are mild, but some children develop spine deformities that continue to get more severe as they grow leading to disability . It is most often recognised during the growth spurt just before puberty hence a screening of all school going children espicially girls by an expert is advised between the age of 11 and 13 years for early diagnosis of the deformity. As the curvature grows the rate of further progression keeps increasing

A deformity may grow beyond 90 degree which may reduce the amount of space within the chest, making it difficult for the lungs to function properly

There may be many types of scoliosis of which idiopathic is the commonest

• Idiopathic – Multigene autosomal dominant trait.
• Congenital – Syringomyelia, Diastematomyelia, Neoplasm, Tethered Cord Syndrome, ACM, Cerebral palsy.
• Degenerative – Vertebral body, Disc, Articular facets.
• Intramedullary Tumours
• Vertebral Body Tumours – Benign, Malignant, Secondaries.
• Adult Degenerative Scoliosis : The other common type of scolisios is Adult Degenerative Scoliosis which occurs in old age due to degenerative changes in body especially osteoporosis .

This is also much more common in females then males.