Normally, a spine when viewed from rear should appear straight but if the spine is lateral or curved or sideways or rotated then it is affected by scoliosis. It gives an appearance as if the person has leaned to a side. According to Scoliosis Research Society the definition of scoliosis is the curving of the spine at an angle greater than 10 degrees on an x-ray.Scoliosis is a kind of spinal deformity and shouldn’t be confused to poor posture. Usually there are 4 common kinds of patterns of curves experienced in Scoliosis which are: Thoracic wherein the right side has ninety percent curves, lumbar wherein left side has seventy percent curves, thoracolumbar wherein right side has eighty percent curves and double major where both right and left sides have curves.
In majority of the cases, as high as eight to eighty five percent, the cause of the deformity is unknown, this is also known as idiopathic scoliosis. It is observed that females have scoliosis more commonly than males. According to some established facts 3 to 5 children per 1000 has chances of developing spinal curves which is a number big enough requiring medical treatment.
There are three types of scoliosis that can develop in children namely congenital, neuromuscular and idiopathic. Congenital scoliosis is seen in 1 out every 1,000 births which is caused due to vertebrae’s failure in normal formation, vertebrae is absent, vertebrae is formed partially and vertebrae is not separated.
Neuromuscular scoliosis is linked with various neurological conditions and particularly in children who don’t walk like cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, tumors in spinal cord, paralytic conditions and neurofibromatosis. The cause of third type of scoliosis called Idiopathic scoliosis is still unknown. It is further divided into infantile, juvenile and adolescent scoliosis.
Infantile scoliosis occurs up to the age of 3 years from birth wherein the vertebrae curve is towards left and is more frequently observed in boys. The curve takes normal shape with the growth of child. Juvenile scoliosis is common in children of age three to nine. Adolescent scoliosis is common in kids of age ten to eighteen and this is also the most common form of scoliosis occurring more in girls than boys.
The other possible causes of the deformity include hereditary reasons, different lengths of legs, injuries, infections and tumors. There are numerous symptoms attributed to scoliosis which can vary from individual to individual. The symptoms are: Difference in heights of the shoulders, off-centered head, difference in the height or position of the hip, difference in the position or height of shoulder blade, different arm lengths in straight standing position and lastly different height back sides when the body is bent forward.
Other symptoms include leg pain, back pain and change in bladder and bowel habits do not belong to the symptoms of idiopathic scoliosis and require medical checkup by a doctor. The symptoms may be similar to other problems related to spinal cord or other deformities or could result from an infection or injury and consulting a doctor is the best bet in this situation who may conduct diagnosis to know what exactly it is.
The diagnosis of scoliosis requires thorough medical history of the teenager, diagnostic tests and also physical examination. The doctor asks for entire prenatal history, birth history and also would want to know if anyone in the family has scoliosis.The doctor may also ask for the milestones related with the development of the teenager since some kinds of scoliosis are known to be related to neuromuscular disorders. The delay in development may need additional medical evaluation. Doctor may also prescribe x-ray, CT scan and MRI scan of the back to measure the degree of curvature in the spinal.
There are various treatments available for scoliosis which is decided by the physician depending on teenager’s age, medical history and health in general. The method of treatment also depends on the extent to which disease has reached. The tolerance of the teenager to certain medicines, therapies and procedures are also taken into consideration.
Expectations and opinion of the parents or teenager is also the criteria in deciding the type of treatment. The main aim of the treatment is stop the curve from progressing and avert deformity. The treatments include observation and repetitive examinations, bracing and surgery to correct the defect.
Kwa kawaida, uti wa mgongo unapoonekana kutoka nyuma unapaswa kuonekana kuwa wa moja kwa moja, lakini ikiwa uti wa mgongo ni wa upande au umepindika au upande au umepinduliwa, basi unaathiriwa na scoliosis. Inaonekana kana kwamba mtu huyo amepiga magoti upande mmoja. Kulingana na Shirika la Utafiti wa Scoliosis, ufafanuzi wa scoliosis ni kupindika kwa uti wa mgongo kwa pembe kubwa kuliko digrii 10 kwenye X-ray.Scoliosis ni aina ya deformity ya uti wa mgongo na haipaswi kuchanganyikiwa na msimamo mbaya. Kwa kawaida kuna aina nne za kawaida za curves zilizopatikana katika scoliosis ambazo ni: Thoracic ambapo upande wa kulia una curves asilimia 90, lumbar ambapo upande wa kushoto una curves asilimia 70, thoracic-lumbar ambapo upande wa kulia una curves asilimia 80 na double major ambapo pande zote mbili za kulia na kushoto zina curves. Katika asilimia 8 hadi 85 ya watu, sababu ya ugonjwa huo haijulikani, na huitwa scoliosis ya idiopathic. Inatambuliwa kwamba wanawake huwa na ugonjwa wa uti wa mgongo kwa kawaida kuliko wanaume. Kulingana na baadhi ya ukweli ulioanzishwa, watoto 3 hadi 5 kwa kila 1000 wana nafasi ya kuendeleza curves ya uti wa mgongo, ambayo ni idadi kubwa ya kutosha ambayo inahitaji matibabu. Kuna aina tatu za scoliosis ambazo zinaweza kutokea kwa watoto yaani congenital, neuromuscular na idiopathic. Scoliosis ya kuzaliwa huonekana katika 1 kati ya kila kuzaliwa 1,000, ambayo husababishwa na kushindwa kwa vertebrae katika malezi ya kawaida, vertebrae haipo, vertebrae huundwa kwa sehemu na vertebrae haijagawanywa. Neuromuscular scoliosis ni kuhusishwa na hali mbalimbali za neva na hasa katika watoto ambao hawana kutembea kama cerebral palsy, misuli dystrophy, spina bifida, uvimbe katika uti wa mgongo, hali paralytic na neurofibromatosis. Kisababishi cha aina ya tatu ya ugonjwa wa uti wa mgongo iitwayo ugonjwa wa uti wa mgongo wa idiopathic bado hakijulikani. Pia imegawanywa katika ugonjwa wa uti wa mgongo wa watoto, wa vijana, na wa matineja. Scoliosis ya watoto huanza katika umri wa miaka mitatu na inaonekana mara nyingi kwa wavulana. Mzunguko huo huanza kuwa wa kawaida kadiri mtoto anavyoendelea kukua. Scoliosis ya vijana ni ya kawaida kwa watoto wenye umri wa miaka mitatu hadi tisa. Scoliosis ya ujana ni ya kawaida kwa watoto wa umri wa miaka kumi hadi kumi na nane na hii pia ni aina ya kawaida ya scoliosis inayotokea zaidi kwa wasichana kuliko wavulana. Sababu nyingine zinazowezekana za kasoro ni pamoja na sababu za urithi, urefu tofauti wa miguu, majeraha, maambukizi na uvimbe. Kuna dalili nyingi zinazohusianishwa na scoliosis ambazo zinaweza kutofautiana kutoka kwa mtu mmoja hadi mwingine. Dalili ni tofauti ya urefu wa mabega, kichwa off-centered, tofauti ya urefu au nafasi ya kiuno, tofauti ya nafasi au urefu wa shoulder blade, tofauti urefu wa mkono katika nafasi ya kusimama moja kwa moja na mwishowe tofauti urefu upande wa nyuma wakati mwili ni bent mbele. Dalili nyingine ni pamoja na maumivu ya mguu, maumivu ya mgongo na mabadiliko katika kibofu cha mkojo na tabia ya matumbo, si dalili za scoliosis idiopathic na zinahitaji uchunguzi wa daktari. Dalili za ugonjwa huu zinaweza kuwa sawa na matatizo mengine yanayohusiana na uti wa mgongo au deformities nyingine au inaweza kuwa matokeo ya maambukizo au majeraha, na kushauriana na daktari ni bet bora katika hali hii ambaye anaweza kufanya utambuzi kujua nini hasa ni. Ugonjwa wa ugonjwa wa uti wa mgongo huhitaji historia kamili ya kitiba ya kijana, vipimo vya utambuzi na pia uchunguzi wa kimwili. Kwa mfano, daktari anaweza kuuliza historia ya uzazi, historia ya kuzaliwa, na ikiwa kuna mtu yeyote katika familia ambaye ana scoliosis, na daktari anaweza pia kuuliza kwa hatua zinazohusiana na maendeleo ya kijana, kwani aina fulani za scoliosis zinajulikana kuwa zinahusiana na matatizo ya neva na misuli. Huenda kukawa na uhitaji wa kuchunguza zaidi hali ya maendeleo ya mtoto. Daktari anaweza pia kuagiza upimaji wa X-ray, CT scan na MRI scan ya mgongo ili kupima kiwango cha curvature katika uti wa mgongo. Kuna matibabu mbalimbali yanayopatikana kwa scoliosis ambayo huamuliwa na daktari kulingana na umri wa kijana, historia ya matibabu na afya kwa ujumla. Njia ya kutibu pia inategemea kadiri ugonjwa huo umefikiavyo. Uvumilivu wa kijana kwa dawa fulani, matibabu na taratibu pia hufikiriwa. Matarajio na maoni ya wazazi au kijana pia ni vigezo katika kuamua aina ya matibabu. Lengo kuu la matibabu ni kuzuia curve kutoka maendeleo na kuepuka deformity. Matibabu hayo yanatia ndani kuchunguza na kurudia-rudia uchunguzi, kuunganisha viungo vya mwili na upasuaji ili kurekebisha kasoro hiyo.