image source : http://www.coloradospineinstitute.com/subject.php?pn=cond-idiopathic-scoliosis9Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side, shaped like an "s" or "c", and the spine may also be rotated.
Scoliosis is divided into three categories: congenital, idiopathic and neuromuscular. Congenital scoliosis indicates the patient was born with the curvature of the spine and is caused by a failure of the vertebrae to individually form or separate from each other. Neuromuscular scoliosis is caused by a wide variety of disorders which include cerebral palsy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and myelomeningocele (also known as spina bifi da). Each of these categories is very different and requires different treatment interventions than adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
Idiopathic means the identifying cause of the disease/disorder is unknown. Research into the cause has targeted multiple areas and exemplifi es the complex nature of this disorder. The current consensus is that it is a multifactorial process that includes altered melatonin production, connective tissue disorder, skeletal muscle abnormalities, contractile protein dysfunction or a nerve function problem.
