March 1, 2011 - Spinal Curves

Kyphosis, Lordosis, & Scoliosis

Abnormal Spinal Curvature

Scoliosis (sko-lee-oh-sis) is a term taken from a Greek word meaning curvature. During the 19th Century physicians thought poor posture was the primary cause of scoliosis. Today scoliosis is known to be either congenital (present at birth) or developmental and may be hereditary. The disease causes the spine to curve laterally (to the side) usually in the shape of an "S" or "C". The curve is measured in degrees. Some curves are severe.

Scoliosis 

 Idiopathic Scoliosis (id-dee-oh-path-ick sko-lee-oh-sis) is the childhood version of adult scoliosis. It is hereditary and primarily affects healthy young girls during their early teens. Physical signs may include uneven shoulders, one hip lower than the other, a rib hump when bent over at the waist and leaning to one side. When maturity is reached the disease may stabilize or slowly degenerate over time. In an adult with scoliosis, the curve may have begun to develop during childhood but went unnoticed.

Whatever the patient's age, the goal is to stabilize the spine to prevent additional curvature. Some patients with scoliosis are pain free and do not seek treatment until deformity is noticed. Unfortunately, at that point it may be too late to treat the disease. The size of the curve is measured in degrees on an x-ray. The progression of scoliosis is monitored by periodic x-ray studies. When scoliosis is severe it may cause the spine to rotate, which can cause spinal spacing to narrow on the opposite side of the body.


 Kyphosis (ky-foe-sis) is the normal curvature of the rib-bearing thoracic spine. Excessive kyphosis may develop as a result of poor posture early in life. Kyphosis means the spine is bent forward. Although kyphosis usually affects women, it is found to develop in men too. An excessive form of kyphosis may cause a hump to form in the shoulder blade area of the upper back. Kyphosis may affect men and women with osteoporosis.



Excessive Kyphosis 

Lordosis (lor-doe-sis) is the normal contour of the neck and lower back. Excessive lordosis may cause an extreme inward curve in the lower back. This condition is also called swayback.

Excessive Lordosis (Hyperlordosis)

 

This article is an excerpt from the book Save Your Aching Back and Neck: A Patient’s Guide, edited by Dr. Stewart Eidelson.

Fun Fact: While it used to be generally believed that humans evolved from apes and that our ancestors learned to stand up slowly (see A below), it is now understood that this was not the case.

http://www.custance.org/old/evol/5ch3/huxley.gif

The diagram below (to the trained eye) illustrates that many changes had to happen for humans to "stand erect" during the evolutionary process.

For more information about this image visit : 
http://books.google.com/books?id=LfYirloa_rUC&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=Spinal+curves+of+great+apes&source=bl&ots=gewb904X0_&sig=5EM-PnPdYV3Nc4VVo3-5IW-vZ_0&hl=en&ei=tFtuTaeRPIX7lwey7-B_&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Spinal%20curves%20of%20great%20apes&f=false