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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Does scoliosis last throughout my life?

    Related Topics
    Orthopaedics Scoliosis
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    Thanks

    Dr David Salisbury

    Osteopath

    Dr David Salisbury is an osteopath situated in Lakes Entrance, Victoria. He completed his osteopathic studies at RMIT University, and now works at Complete Freedom … View Profile

    Unfortunately it usually does last throughout your life. The cause of the scoliosis is unknown in 85% of cases and therefore can't be treated.
    If the underlying cause of the scoliosis (disease, short leg, etc) can be corrected/treated, it can fix the scoliosis, but this is rare.
    The good news is that the vast majority of people with scoliosis can lead a normal life. I have found that patients with scoliosis are more likely to have back pain, but this can be affectively treated, usually meaning that their quality of life is no different to someone without scoliosis.

    Thanks,
    Dr David Salisbury - Osteopath - www.bdhh.com.au

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  • Dr Ryan Hislop

    Chiropractor

    Ryan Hislop is the Clinical Director at the Orange Chiropractic Health and Wellness Centre. As an experienced and evidence-based diagnostician, Ryan works largely by medical … View Profile

    As Dr Salisbury mentioned, the majority of people with scoliosis have an unknown cause (known medically as idiopathic).

    Often as we look at scoliosis in practice, we want to determine if the scoliosis is functional or structural. In the case of a functional scoliosis, we see the curvature change with specific movements. This is often more treatable that a structural scoliosis where the structure of the bones have malformed, creating the curvature.

    Scoliosis is a very interesting topic in that Domenech and colleagues from the Deptartment of Orthopaedic Surgery in Valencia, Spain  now suggest that "a deregulation with hemispheric asymmetry in the modulation of the motor activity controlling spine posture at (an) intracortical level could be the cause of progressive scoliotic deformity.” This means that many of the proposed etiologies of idiopathic scoliosis are neurological in origin, including brain asymmetry, neural axis deformities, and central nervous system processing errors as well integrative problems.

    As we learn more about scoliosis and understand how it occurs, we will hopefully develop strategies and treatment methods to address the underlying cause of the scoliosis.

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