Scoliosis Specialist

What is scoliosis?

Scoliosis is a common condition affecting many children and adolescents. Rather than having a straight line down the middle of the back, there is a sideways curve of the spine sometimes looking like a letter "C" or "S." Sometimes the bones may have also rotated to a degree, making the person’s waist or shoulders appear uneven. It can cause pain, usually mild, though some patients have more back pain than the average.

What causes scoliosis?

The specific cause of scoliosis is generally unknown. Some conditions that have been known to cause spinal deformity are abnormalities of the spine formed at birth, neurological disorders, muscular diseases, genetic conditions. Other causes can be infections or fractures involving the spine. Scoliosis can occur in both boys and girls, however, as children enter adolescence, scoliosis in girls is five to eight times more likely. Some of the symptoms of scoliosis include:

• One shoulder may be higher than the other.
• One shoulder blade may be more prominent than the other.
• There may be more space between the arm and the body on one side.
• One hip may appear to be higher or more prominent than the other.
• The head may not be exactly centered over the pelvis.
• The waist may be flattened on one side; skin creases may be present on one side of the waist.

How is scoliosis diagnosed?

Scoliosis is diagnosed when the patient is examined from the rear and asked to bend forward until the spine is horizontal. If one side of the back appears higher than the other it can be a sign of scoliosis. Determining whether or not you have scoliosis is best done by a physician who performs a physical examination of your back. Children can be screened for scoliosis at any age, though the Scoliosis Research Society recommends that girls be screened twice, at 10 and 12 years of age and boys once at 12 or 13 years of age.