Introduction:
The human spine is made out of 33 vertebrae that unite together to form a singular structure usually known as the vertebral column. It provides structural support, flexibility, and balance to maintain a vertical upright posture. A healthy normal vertebral column is straight and has front to back curves. The curve in the neck area is called the cervical spine, the curve in the upper back is called the thoracic spine, and the curve located in the lower back is known as the lumbar spine. Scoliosis is a common medical disease in which there is an abnormal sideways curvature of the human spine where curves are often S- shaped or C-shaped (Mayoclinic, 2016). It is mostly found in girls and usually is diagnosed during the growth spurt …show more content…
The most common types of Idiopathic Scoliosis are thoracic scoliosis which the curve is found in the upper back creating a C shape, Lumbar scoliosis which is found in the lower back creating a C- shape, and thoracolumbar scoliosis which the curve is found in both the thoracic and lumbar spine creating a S- shaped curve. Scoliosis is usually seen if one hip or one shoulder may appear higher than the other, shoulder blades may stick out, the body may lean to one side, difficulty of breathing is common if the thoracic curve pushes on the lungs, and when pressure is on the spinal cord and nerves causing backpain. Currently, there are no treatment for Scoliosis that can fix the spine perfectly and make it straight. However, there are methods that can help reduce the degree of the curve such as back bracing which can be used to treat children with 20-40 degrees to help reduce the curve since it puts pressure in order to give strength to the spine and physical therapy can be used to help strengthen the back and improve balance and posture. Spinal fusion is a major surgery that usually takes several hours to complete which is used for degrees above 40 in which rods, hooks, wires, and screws are attached to the curved part of the backbone in order to …show more content…
Without a very precise fusion, most rods will be repeatedly stressed which leads to it loosening up throughout time, and eventually even the strongests rods will result in breakage. Unfortunately, most rods that loosen up require another spinal fusion surgery in order to replace the rods which can be very dangerous for the patient. Many spinal fusion surgeries have very negative complications such as infections, internal bleeding, nerve damage, paralysis, and lung damage. The reason the rods get loosened up is due to the stress that mostly the small, flexible area at the bottom of the spine known as the lumbar spine. The stress develops with normal activities such as running, bending, lifting. Jumping, swimming, etc. This research has developed a superlastic adaptive alloy that improves the success rate of scoliosis treatment mostly in children. The material of the alloy is very superlastic and five times more flexible than the currently normal available rods that are used to be implanted in the spine. Materials that are being implanted in the spine must be corrosion and fatigue resistance, and they must be compatible with the biochemical environment of each patient’s bone (Healthpointcapital, 2016). There are 270 bones in the human
The human spine is made out of 33 vertebrae that unite together to form a singular structure usually known as the vertebral column. It provides structural support, flexibility, and balance to maintain a vertical upright posture. A healthy normal vertebral column is straight and has front to back curves. The curve in the neck area is called the cervical spine, the curve in the upper back is called the thoracic spine, and the curve located in the lower back is known as the lumbar spine. Scoliosis is a common medical disease in which there is an abnormal sideways curvature of the human spine where curves are often S- shaped or C-shaped (Mayoclinic, 2016). It is mostly found in girls and usually is diagnosed during the growth spurt …show more content…
The most common types of Idiopathic Scoliosis are thoracic scoliosis which the curve is found in the upper back creating a C shape, Lumbar scoliosis which is found in the lower back creating a C- shape, and thoracolumbar scoliosis which the curve is found in both the thoracic and lumbar spine creating a S- shaped curve. Scoliosis is usually seen if one hip or one shoulder may appear higher than the other, shoulder blades may stick out, the body may lean to one side, difficulty of breathing is common if the thoracic curve pushes on the lungs, and when pressure is on the spinal cord and nerves causing backpain. Currently, there are no treatment for Scoliosis that can fix the spine perfectly and make it straight. However, there are methods that can help reduce the degree of the curve such as back bracing which can be used to treat children with 20-40 degrees to help reduce the curve since it puts pressure in order to give strength to the spine and physical therapy can be used to help strengthen the back and improve balance and posture. Spinal fusion is a major surgery that usually takes several hours to complete which is used for degrees above 40 in which rods, hooks, wires, and screws are attached to the curved part of the backbone in order to …show more content…
Without a very precise fusion, most rods will be repeatedly stressed which leads to it loosening up throughout time, and eventually even the strongests rods will result in breakage. Unfortunately, most rods that loosen up require another spinal fusion surgery in order to replace the rods which can be very dangerous for the patient. Many spinal fusion surgeries have very negative complications such as infections, internal bleeding, nerve damage, paralysis, and lung damage. The reason the rods get loosened up is due to the stress that mostly the small, flexible area at the bottom of the spine known as the lumbar spine. The stress develops with normal activities such as running, bending, lifting. Jumping, swimming, etc. This research has developed a superlastic adaptive alloy that improves the success rate of scoliosis treatment mostly in children. The material of the alloy is very superlastic and five times more flexible than the currently normal available rods that are used to be implanted in the spine. Materials that are being implanted in the spine must be corrosion and fatigue resistance, and they must be compatible with the biochemical environment of each patient’s bone (Healthpointcapital, 2016). There are 270 bones in the human