Scoliosis metal rods attached to a plastic or leather girdle, designed to straighten the spine. As a result of the constant pressure the brace inflicted on a patients' spine, it was particularly painful and inconvenient to wear due to physical limits it imposed. Wearing the brace was known to cause jaw pain, skin irritation, muscle pain and low self-esteem among patients. The 'Harrington rod' technique was the second major treatment for scoliosis to emerge and became the first significant surgical procedure to manipulate spinal positioning. This treatment was initially developed to treat paralytic scoliosis that resulted from the polio epidemic of
Scoliosis is due to genetic factors, and 62% is due to the environment. The genetics are likely complex, however, given the inconsistent inheritance and discordance among monozygotic twins. The specific genes that contribute to development of scoliosis have not been conclusively identified. At least one gene, "CHD7", has been associated with the idiopathic form of scoliosis. Several candidate gene studies have found associations between idiopathic scoliosis and genes mediating bone formation, bone metabolism, and connective tissue structure. Several genome-wide studies have identified a number of loci as significantly linked to idiopathic scoliosis. In 2006, idiopathic scoliosis was linked with three microsatellite