Causes of scoliosis and various risk factors

Scoliosis is a spinal disorder that can affect babies, children, and adults. This type of musculoskeletal disorder causes the spine to curve sideways, causing the spine to form the letter S or C. In addition, sufferers will generally experience symptoms of scoliosis, such as pain and discomfort in the back. Actually, what causes scoliosis?

What are the causes of scoliosis?

Based on the Mayo Clinic report, the common cause of scoliosis is not known with certainty. However, doctors have found a variety of health problems that are not common causes of this spinal disorder, namely:

1. Neuromuscular problems

This condition indicates a malfunctioning of the muscles and nerves in the body. People with this condition may develop scoliosis at a later date. Examples of neuromuscular problems that cause scoliosis include:

Cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is a movement disorder associated with abnormal reflexes. The sufferer will experience weakness or stiffness in the limbs, make uncontrollable movements, abnormal posture, difficulty swallowing, and sometimes it is difficult to walk properly.

Some also have intellectual disabilities, blindness and deafness. Cerebral palsy occurs due to damage to the brain while the fetus is still in the womb. This movement disorder can be the cause of a small number of cases of scoliosis.

Spina bifida

Spina bifida is a neural tube defect that occurs in babies. The neural tube itself is a structure in the embryo that later develops into the brain, spinal cord, and the tissue that encloses it.

On the 28th day of pregnancy, some of the neural tubes do not close or develop properly, causing defects in the fetus, called spina bifida.

Babies with spina bifida sometimes show signs of a crest on their back and an enlarged head due to fluid buildup in the brain. This congenital defect can be the cause of scoliosis in children.

Muscular dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that cause progressive loss of muscle mass and weakness in the muscles. This disease occurs due to mutated genes that interfere with the production of protein needed to build healthy muscle.

People who have muscular dystrophy will experience symptoms such as frequent falls, sore or stiff muscles, difficulty walking, running, or jumping, and delayed growth.

The occurrence of scoliosis spine disorders caused by the causes above, generally progresses faster than idiopathic scoliosis. Usually, scoliosis treatment for this type requires surgical operation.

2. Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a condition of bone loss. Bone is living tissue that will be brittle and replaced with new bone. Unfortunately, for people with osteoporosis, new bone formation is very slow.

As a result, making bones brittle and easy to fracture (fracture). The area of bone that is most commonly fractured is the spine. This fracture can be the cause of the spine curving sideways or you know it as scoliosis.

Symptoms of osteoporosis are not seen at the stage of bone loss. However, once the bones are weakened, usually people with this disease will experience back pain, slouched posture, and prone to fractures.

3. Spinal malformations

Embryological malformation of one or more vertebrae (spine) in the skeletal system, can be a cause of scoliosis. This condition causes one area of the spine to elongate more slowly. As a result, the bones can curve sideways. This disorder appears since the baby is born and is usually detected when he enters the age of children or adolescents.

Factors that increase the risk of scoliosis

Although not all causes of scoliosis are known for sure, scientists have found a variety of factors that can increase the risk, such as:

Age

Scoliosis can occur at any age. However, this spinal disorder is more common in children, adolescents and the elderly. Usually also detected in adolescence.