Scoliosis: causes, risk factors, signs and symptoms

Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine which is seen more frequently among girls than of boys. Scoliosis appear especially during rapid growth during puberty, but there and forms that appear earlier.

Deviations of the spine can be divided into:
* Deviation of the spine in the frontal plane (scoliosis);
* Deviation of the spine in the sagittal plane (cifiza, lordosis).

Scoliosis is the deviation of the spine in frontal plane. This new position of the spine produces asymmetry of the shoulders. Spinal curves less than 10 degrees are considered normal. Many people have such deviations.

Experts believe that one of the main factors leading to illness is genetic. Other causes:
* Congenital diseases - spinal deformities;
* Progressive muscular dystrophy;
* Paralysis and postnatal (infantile encephalopathy disabling, poliomyelitis);
* Trauma;
* Infections;
* Tumors.

Risk factors. Factors that increase the risk for a person to develop scoliosis refers to:
* Gender: affection is found especially among girls;
* Age: if you are younger, the greater the risk of developing a greater curvature;
* Family history: if the mother has scoliosis, it is quite possible that her daughter developed the same condition;
* Tissue disorders related to the development of intrauterine: for children born with scoliosis (congenital scoliosis) is very likely that the disease becomes worse over time.

Symptoms. Because they do not feel pain (only about 3% of scoliosis feel some pain) many patients go to doctor when deformation is very high. Can be observed by parents:
* One shoulder higher than other;
* One hip higher than other;
* A blade that looks more prominent than the other;
* Tend to be bent to one side.

Types of scoliosis. Scoliosis may be classified according to several criteria:

Etiological criterion (depending on the cause that led to the disease) and by this they differ:

* Functional Scoliosis (attitude, position, job failure, muscle contractures, inflammatory myositis cases, compensatory deviations above or below the primary scoliotice curves etc.).
* Structural Scoliosis (congenital or neogenetice scoliosis, neuromuscular scoliosis, traumatic, genetic, idiopathic scoliosis by spinal tumors, scoliosis myopathic)
* Shaped scoliosis "C" - with a single curve;

Scoliosis is caused by pathological conditions such as: rickets, trauma of the vertebral body (vertebral wedge), polio, etc..

In terms of stages, we know three degrees:

* Grade 1 - is called scoliosis benign, may be confused, the easiest form of deviations of attitude.
* Grade 2 - in this phase of scoliosis, by bending movements with or without lateral push, we can obtain some straightening of the spine;
* Grade 3 - the deviations of spine and deformations can no longer be fixed by simple bending and twisting movements. In these cases, scoliosis is severe.