Scoliosis causes a sideways curve of your backbone, or spine. These curves are often S- or C-shaped. Scoliosis is most common in late childhood and the early teens, when children grow fast. Girls are more likely to have it than boys. It can run in families. Symptoms include leaning to one side and having uneven shoulders and hips.
Sometimes the curve is temporary. It might be due to muscle spasms, inflammation or having different leg lengths. A birth defect, tumor or another disease might cause the spine to have a curve that isn't temporary. People with mild scoliosis might only need checkups to see if the curve is getting worse. Others might need to wear a brace or have surgery.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
-
Scoliosis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/bone/scolio.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/kid/en_espanol/comunes/scolio_esp.html
-
What Is Scoliosis?
(National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) - http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Scoliosis/scoliosis_ff.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.niams.nih.gov/Portal_En_Espanol/Informacion_de_Salud/Escoliosis/default.asp
-
Scoliosis(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00236
Also available in Spanish http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00481
- Scoliosis(American Physical Therapy Association) - http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=20446
- Spinal Fusion(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00348
-
Treating Scoliosis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/bones/scoliosis.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/medicos/scoliosis_esp.html
- Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis(North American Spine Society) - Links to PDF - http://www.spine.org/Documents/scoliosis_2006.pdf
- Spinal Fusion Surgery for Scoliosis: Planning Checklist(Muscular Dystrophy Association) - http://www.mda.org/publications/Quest/q94checklist.html
-
Avoiding Fusion in Early Onset Scoliosis(OR-Live) - Requires Flash Player - One hour program - 12/05/2007 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/nlm-flash/nep_1778/rnh.cfm?id=654
Also available in Spanish http://www.or-live.com/distributors/nlm-spanish/nep_1778/rnh_sp.cfm - Lumbar Laminectomy and Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - 11/15/2006 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=370
- Pediatric Spinal Fusion to Correct Scoliosis(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - 9/08/2006 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=321
-
Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib Procedure(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - 11/01/2006 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=368
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Scoliosis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Scoliosis%22
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Cesarean delivery under ultrasound-guided spinal anesthesia, in a parturient with... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18840590&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Surgical treatment of main thoracic scoliosis with thoracoscopic anterior instrumentation.... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18829904&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Conservative scoliosis treatment in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18810044&tool=MedlinePlus
- Scoliosis -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=scoliosis[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+news[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Definition of Scoliosis Terms(Scoliosis Research Society) - http://www.srs.org/patients/glossary.asp
- Find an Orthopaedist(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://www6.aaos.org/about/public/members.cfm
- SRS Find a Specialist(Scoliosis Research Society) - http://www.srs.org/find/
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons - http://www.aaos.org/
-
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases - http://www.niams.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.niams.nih.gov/Portal_En_Espanol/
- Scoliosis Research Society - http://www.srs.org/
-
Questions and Answers about Scoliosis in Children and Adolescents(National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) - http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Scoliosis/default.asp
-
Scoliosis(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/special/bone/107.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/children/parents/special/bone/107.printerview.html
-
Scoliosis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/bone/scolio.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/kid/en_espanol/comunes/scolio_esp.html
-
Scoliosis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/bones/scoliosis.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/enfermedades/scoliosis_esp.html
- Bones, Joints and Muscles - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bonesjointsandmuscles.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Scoliosis is the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases - http://www.niams.nih.gov/