Scoliosis successful management of diseases causing spinal deformity, many patients suffered from scoliosis with no known cause. The unknown cause was eventually determined to be idiopathic scoliosis. Alfred Shands Jr., an orthopedic surgeon, discovered that two percent of patients had non-disease related scoliosis. Idiopathic scoliosis, also known as the "cancer of orthopedic surgery", was determined to be dangerous because there was no current treatment. The condition needed to be detected in patients promptly so treatment could be developed in time to halt its progression. As a result, schools made it mandatory for students to have screenings for scoliosis. Early on, set
Neuromechanics of idiopathic scoliosis vertebral column can be deformed at the thoracic level, at the lumbar level or at both. In the lumbar region, scoliosis induces perturbations to standing balance. The thoracic region is the location that most impacts movement strategies. Scoliosis impedes on the movement of the ribs, places the respiratory muscles at a mechanical disadvantage and displaces the various organs of the thoracic cavity. In a scoliotic patient, the vertebral column experiences extension forces on the convex side and compression forces on the concave side. At the apical vertebra, average bone density for the concave cortical bone is higher than for the