What is scoliosis?
Scoliosis is the outcome of a progressive 3D deformation of the spine.
- Scoliosis affects between 2 and 3% of the population.
- Among the most severe scoliosis cases, 8 out of 10 are young females.
- Scoliosis begins in childhood or adolescence. It occurs at different ages
and is categorised accordingly as an infantile,
juvenile or adolescent scoliosis. It can be detected at all ages
but as it is very much related to growth, it is
most common in adolescence.
- In more than 80% of the cases, the real cause of scoliosis remains unknown; this
is why it's called idiopathic. There are many hypotheses being studied
by researchers. Heredity and growth control mechanisms are the main focus
for modern research. Whilst there is no scientific consensus on the
precise cause and progression factors of idiopathic scoliosis, enough is
known to improve non-surgical treatments.
If untreated, most severe scoliotic deformations have mid
and long-term consequences on:
- Vital functions: respiratory and cardiac pathology
- Locomotion: pain and mobility limitation
- Aesthetic: hunchbacked aspect and short trunk.
