When the Spine Curves: Treatments for Scoliosis
Present Knowledge of Scoliosis
Types of Idiopathic Scoliosis
There are four types of idiopathic scoliosis, each one defined and named according to the age at which it appears. Infantile scoliosis extends from birth to age 3, juvenile from 3 to 9, adolescent from 10 to 18 and adult from 18 onward.
- Infantile onset scoliosis is usually a left-sided curve exhibited by males. This condition often corrects itself spontaneously with growth, making bracing and surgery unlikely.
- Juvenile scoliosis progression can be difficult to predict in children over 5 years old. In some cases, it remains latent until adolescence while in others it progresses quickly. These curves occur evenly in both males and females, and are most often right thoracic curves (upper spine.
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- Adolescent scoliosis is the most common of the four types, making up roughly 80 percent of scoliosis patients. The scoliotic curves discovered during adolescence may have developed years earlier. The curves may not have been noticeable during childhood and, without treatment, were allowed to progress into a larger curve by adolescence. Regardless, adolescence is a time of the greatest risk for curvature progression due to rapid growth associated with puberty. As a result, close observation is essential.
3. Adolescent with scoliosis
circa 1980
Courtesy of Weinstein, Stuart L., ed.
The
Pediatric Spine: Principles and Practice.
Vol. II.
New York: Raven Press, 1994.
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- Adult scoliosis can be the result of improper diagnosis, or may not have been noticed earlier in life. Seldom does a patient reach adulthood before being diagnosed. In these cases, an untreated mild curve in childhood or adolescence may have progressed into a severe adult curve. If a spinal curve actually develops in adulthood, it is most likely later in life and the result of osteoporosis or a degenerative arthritis.
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