Curvature of the spine
4 percent of people have it, yet it is a relatively unknown form of back pain: scoliosis. What exactly is a scoliosis? What complaints do you have and how can you live with them?
The non-medical term for scoliosis, a crooked back, immediately makes clear what a scoliosis is. In a scoliosis, the spine (spine) is curved laterally.
C- and S-shaped
If the spine curves to one side, so with one bend, we speak of a C-shaped curvature. If the spinal column grows in two directions, and thus has two bends, we speak of an S-shaped curvature. The spine often also rotates around its axis (torsional scoliosis), as a result of which a bulge, i.e. a hump (gibbus) is created at chest height on the back side.
What symptoms do you have with scoliosis?
Scoliosis can cause pain in your back, especially when you bend over. What other complaints/conditions can you have if you have scoliosis?
- A tilted pelvis.
- Uneven legs.
- Headache.
- Radiating pain to your legs.
- Fatigue due to reduced lung function.
Incidentally, a scoliosis does not necessarily have to cause symptoms. There are usually no complaints at all, especially in children. This does not alter the fact that treatment is necessary for children to prevent complaints in the future.
How does scoliosis develop?
Sometimes a scoliosis is already present at birth, then it is called congenital scoliosis. Much more often the condition develops during growth, just before puberty, around the age of 10 years. Occasionally a scoliosis develops even later, for example due to aging. What causes scoliosis is very often unknown. The cause may be abnormalities in the bone, nerves, muscles or connective tissue.
How is scoliosis treated?
The sooner you detect scoliosis, the better treatment can be. The main goal of the treatment is to ensure that your spine does not curve further. Treatment often takes a very long time. Until you have grown out, you will always remain under the supervision of an orthopedist and physiotherapist or exercise therapist.
exercise therapy
Exercise therapy comes in different forms, such as physiotherapy, Cesar therapy and people dieck. All these therapies do something slightly different, but with the same goal: try to reduce the pain and improve the mobility of – in this case – the back. Chiropractic is a completely different form of therapy. A chiropractor also focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal system, but his ultimate goal is to allow the entire nervous system to function optimally again via dosed mechanical impulses. With all forms of therapy you can try to live with a scoliosis as best as possible. Especially if you have a mild scoliosis, a curvature of up to 25 degrees, exercise therapy can help with any pain complaints. The curvature is calculated by an orthopedist using a method specially developed for this purpose: the Cobb method.
orthopedist
An orthopedist is a doctor who specializes in musculoskeletal disorders. He can control the deviation of the spine in children by having them wear a brace or plaster corset. This happens when the curvature is between 25 and 45 degrees. Exercise therapy may also be needed to strengthen the muscles.
Operation
Severe cases of scoliosis, ie when the curvature is greater than 45 degrees, may require surgery. A brace is no longer useful in these cases, because it can no longer correct sufficiently. Children operate faster than adults. The vertebra of a child is still flexible and can recover quickly from such an operation. The vertebrae of an adult is often a bit stiffer and recovers more slowly. During the operation, the back is secured by the orthopedic surgeon with the help of metal rods, so that further curvature is prevented.
