Adult Scoliosis
This term refers to scoliosis occurring in an individual over the age of eighteen. Individuals with adult scoliosis differ from the pediatric patient in that the scoliosis tends to be associated with back pain, which is often the main presenting complaint. Curvature in the adult also tends to be severe and progressive, and tends to be very rigid or stiff.
Adult scoliosis encompasses patients with:
- childhood-onset idiopathic scoliosis increasing pain and/or worsening deformity as an adult;
- congenital anomalies that arose in utero;
- degenerative scoliosis caused by disc degeneration, spinal stenosis, or osteoporosis;
- post traumatic scoliosis (occurring as a result of spinal fractures);
- neuro-muscular scoliosis often seen in cases involving polio, muscular dystrophies, or other neuromuscular disorders.