Four Types of Scoliosis
- Lindsay Wong
- Mar 9, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 14, 2021
Four Types of Scoliosis
By Lindsay Wong
Scoliosis can be further broken down into four types of scoliosis: congenital, neuromuscular, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and adult de novo scoliosis. Even though the different types have different causes and affect various age groups, they all progress similarly in patients.
1. Congenital scoliosis
Congenital scoliosis is the type that people are born with, caused by a bone malformation that leads to the condition developing. There is no reason why some people are simply born with the condition. Congenital scoliosis interrupts the structure of the spine by creating a bone in the spine to be irregularly shaped, thereby causing the spine to curve.
2. Neuromuscular scoliosis
The basis of neuromuscular scoliosis is the muscles instead of the bone. Some children have medical conditions that hinders the body’s ability to control the muscles supporting and surrounding the spine. These include Marfan syndrome, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and spina bifida. The scoliosis that develops is a secondary medical problem and a symptom for the patient.
3. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
The majority of scoliosis cases (roughly 80%) are idiopathic – there is no single known cause for the condition. However, experts have theorized that the cause is related to postural maturity, as well as a range of factors that differ between individuals. It occurs in adolescents (mostly girls), aged between 10 and 18, when they are going through puberty and experiencing growth spurts. As a result, the risk of progression of the condition is high.
4. Adult de novo scoliosis
Many cases of adult scoliosis are adolescents who were not diagnosed and simply progressed into adolescents with the condition. However, people who have adult de novo scoliosis are those that were never diagnosed with it. In these cases, spinal deformities accompany the changes that came with aging. Adult de novo scoliosis can be broken down further into: degenerative, traumatic, pathological and idiopathic adult scoliosis.
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