How does scoliosis happen

Part of the medical history is asking questions about your family's health because scoliosis can run in families. Finding out if relatives had it will help the provider decide if you might too. Your health care provider may refer you to an orthopedic specialist. These experts treat diseases of the bones and muscles. They see lots of teens with scoliosis and can decide if you need treatment.

Severe curves can affect the lungs. Orthopedic specialists usually can work with patients to prevent curves from getting to this point. Most mild scoliosis curves don't need treatment. If you have a mild curve, you'll need to go for regular checkups to be sure it doesn't get bigger.

Scoliosis is more likely to get worse while your bones are still growing. So your health care provider will want to keep an eye on you as you grow. If your health care providers think your curve might get worse or cause problems, they'll probably want you to wear a back brace until you finish growing.

The brace doesn't make an existing curve go away, but it can stop it from getting worse. There's no quick fix for scoliosis. Wearing a brace or recovering from surgery takes a while. For some people, this can be tough. If you'd like, your care team can put you in touch with other people who have gone through the same thing or help you find support groups.

There are several different types of braces. If you need a brace, the orthopedic specialist will decide on the number of hours you'll wear it each day and night. The brace acts as a holding device that keeps a curve from getting worse. A brace won't make your spine straight. But if it does its job well, your curve won't get bigger.

If you're getting a brace, your care team will work with you to choose the right one. The right brace is the one that works best for the type of curve you have — but it's also the one you're most likely to wear. So make a list of questions and concerns to discuss with your care team, and let them know all the activities you like to do. When idiopathic scoliosis is present in adults, these patients had AIS in their younger years, but were unaware.

Obviously, in this form of adult scoliosis, the condition has been progressing steadily over the years so has not developed suddenly. When skeletal maturity is reached, that big trigger for progression growth is removed, so progression tends to be slower, although the cumulative effect of progression over many years can still add up to a large degree of curvature. Most common in adults over the age of 40, degenerative scoliosis develops due to natural degenerative changes experienced by the spine that can accompany aging.

Over the years, the spine, just like the rest of the body, incurs the effects of wear and tear. Once the intervertebral discs start to erode, as part of their role is to act as ligaments connecting parts of the spine, this can cause the spine to slip out of alignment and scoliosis to develop as a result. When a condition is classified as progressive, this means that it is bound to get worse over time.

While early detection is highly beneficial in terms of treatment efficacy, this is not alway possible, especially in cases of AIS where there is often an absence of noticeable symptoms. What this leads people to ask, especially parents and caregivers of adolescents recently diagnosed is, can scoliosis happen suddenly? Even in the most common forms of adult scoliosis, the condition has either progressed throughout adolescence and into adulthood, or adults develop scoliosis due to the natural degenerative effects of aging on the spine.

Regardless of when a condition is first noticed and diagnosed, it is never too late to start proactive treatment. We can help answer your questions, empower you with information on treatment options, and come up with a customized treatment plan.

Regardless of how far your condition has progressed by the time it is diagnosed, there is still great potential to help control and manage its progression moving forward. Can Scoliosis Happen Suddenly? How Fast Does It Develop? Mild, Moderate, and Severe Scoliosis Scoliosis has a huge severity range, which is why treatment plans need to be fully customized to address the uniqueness of each patient and their condition.

In terms of condition severity, scoliosis is classified as mild, moderate, or severe. The latter is the more likely scenario, and this leads us into the next section: progression. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: Management and prognosis. Miller MD, et al. The adolescent: Scoliosis. In: Essential Orthopaedics. Kim W, et al. Clinical evaluation, imaging and management of adolescent idiopathic and adult degenerative scoliosis. In: Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology. Azar FM, et al. Scoliosis and kyphosis.

In: Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. Surgical treatment for scoliosis. Devlin VJ. Idiopathic scoliosis. In: Spine Secrets. Larson AN expert opinion. Mayo Clinic. April 30, Fedorak GT, et al. Minimum 5-year follow-up of Mehta casting to treat idiopathic early-onset scoliosis. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Shands AR. End result of the treatment of idiopathic scoliosis.