Essay On Scoliosis

When I was 12 years old, my mother discovered that I had an unusual curve on my back. Worried, she took me to an orthopedic specialist and I was then diagnosed with scoliosis. Scoliosis is a musculoskeletal disorder, and according to scoliosis specialists, it is “the most common spinal deformity among adolescents” (Pialasse and Simoneau 131). More than 7 million people in the United States are affected by scoliosis, 80% of them being idiopathic (“Scoliosis” para.1). Since ancient times, scoliosis has been researched and developed with various types of curvatures and complications. Although the causes of idiopathic scoliosis are still unknown, it can and has been treated both surgically and non-surgically. Scoliosis was officially founded …show more content…
We classify these curves by the location of the deformity specifically what region of the spine it is on (Miyanji 20). There are three regions of the spine, which are the proximal thoracic, main thoracic, and the thoracolumbar region (Miyanji 20). When classifying a curvature, we start by identifying if the curve is structural or nonstructural in each region of the spine; structural curvatures are permanent while nonstructural are not. Each type of curve is made up of a combination of structural and nonstructural regions of the spine. According to an orthopedic specialist, these are the types of curvatures: Main thoracic, Double Thoracic, Double Major, Triple Major, Thoracolumbar, and Lumbar-main Thoracic (Miyanji 20). Every case of scoliosis is different because there are so many types of curvatures, each one with its own risks and complications. It is almost impossible to fully correct a curve that is more than 25 degrees because the spine is too distorted and the discs of the spine are too firm to move that amount of degrees. Still, that hasn’t stopped orthopedic doctors to discover successful treatments that could change lives and the history of scoliosis