SCOLIOSIS
Your spine is made up of 24 bones called vertebrae. Seven of these little bones
are in your neck, twelve in your thoracic or mid-back and five in your lower
back. They stack up one on top of the other to form a straight line when
viewed from front to back, but when viewed from the side they form three
curves (the neck and lower back lordotic curves and the mid-back or kyphotic
curve).
When seen from the front most spines are not perfectly straight,
but when the spine curves or twists excessively it is called scoliosis
(from the Greek word for "crooked").
In 85% to 90% of cases the cause of scoliosis is unknown and the vertebrae,
discs, ligaments, tendons, and muscles all appear to be normal (although
these parts may develop abnormalities). In 10% to 15% of the cases the cause
of scoliosis is tumor, infection, a neuromuscular disease such as cerebral
palsy or muscular dystrophy, a birth deformity or disc problems. Further
deepening the mystery of scoliosis is the fact that no one knows why some
minor curves get worse whereas about 90% do not. However, it should be pointed
out that it is not true, as commonly thought, that poor posture is a cause
of scoliosis or that women with scoliosis have more problems carrying babies
to term than women who do not have the disease.
Apparently, there is some unknown controlling factor or influence in scoliosis
that causes healthy parts of the body to asume an unusual shape. Some people
feel that there may be a hereditary component to the disease since there
is a higher incidence amoung relatives than in the general population. However,
studies have not ruled out emotional factors that could as well cause occurence
to run in families. If there is anything that all scoliosis researchers can
agree on, it’s that few of them agree.
New research on scoliosis shows the cause or important contributing factor
to be a disturbance or defect in the area of the nervous system that controls
posture, body balance, and positioning. In one study, researchers were able
to identify by neurological tests alone nearly 95% of the scoliotics.
Bracing the spine was initially used for providing lasting improvement in scoliosis.
The optimism arose from studies showing that curves straighten an average
of 50% of the time with brace application. When bracing was followed in the
long term, however, a gradual loss of correction was observed, particularly
after the patient was weaned from treatment. One study compared adolescent
girls who were on a brace with 32 who were untreated. According to the study: "There
was no statistically significant difference between the groups."
Electrical stimulation appears to be ineffectual and plaster casts
have often been found to be emotionally scarring.
According to Robert Mendelsohn, M.D.: "Scoliosis is not serious
unless the curvature of the spine is severe, but it is overtreated
almost as often as it is overdiagnosed. If your child is diagnosed
as a victim of scoliosis, don’t accept surgical procedures
or even bracing without first exploring all of the less radical
treatment alternatives."
Chiropractors do not treat disease, scoliosis included, but they do correct
the vertebral subluxation complex (a condition that interferes with the proper
functioning of the nervous system and the body as a whole). A body without
subluxations is in a better position to resist abnormalities and diseases
of all kinds, including scoliosis. Recent research suggesting that scoliosis
may be caused by a neurological defect reinforces the validity of the chiropractic
approach; the nervous system must remain free of structural damage in order
for the body to be healthy.
According to Scott Banks, D.C., the role of chiropractic with
scoliosis is supported by a "long history of empirical evidence..." Fred
Barge, D.C. in Ideopathic Scoliosis: Identifiable Causes, Detection,
and Correction, gave 22 examples of cases of adolescent idiopathic
scoliosis with significant improvement. Barge further stated that "traditional
chiropractic concepts and techniques have shown decent clinical
results in scoliosis control, reduction, and correction."
Chiropractic research however, has been limited and the final
word is not in on this mysterious condition. However, the evidence
increasingly tells us that many scoliosis sufferers could benefit
from chiropractic care.
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