Medical Health Encyclopedia

Scoliosis may be a result of various conditions that affect bones and muscles associated with the spinal column. They include the following:

• Muscle paralysis.
• Muscle deterioration from diseases such as muscular dystrophy, polio, or cerebral palsy.
• Injury to the spinal cord.
• Tumors, growths, or other small abnormalities on the spinal column. For example, syringomyelia, a disorder in which cysts form along the spine, can cause scoliosis. These spinal abnormalities may play a larger role in causing some cases of scoliosis than previously thought.
• Familial dysautonomia, a rare disorder in Jewish children of Ashkenazi descent. (Only about 500 cases have been reported.)
• Stress fractures and hormonal abnormalities that affect bone growth in young, competitive athletes.
• Birth defects, including spina bifida (an open spinal cord) and myelomeningocele (a hernia of the central nervous system).
• Turner's syndrome, a genetic disease in females that affects physical and reproductive development.
• Other diseases that can cause scoliosis are Marfan's syndrome, Aicardi syndrome, Friedreich ataxia, Albers-Schonberg disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Cushing's syndrome, and osteogenesis imperfecta.

Spina bifida is a congenital disorder (birth defect) in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth. In severe cases, this can result in the spinal cord and its covering membranes protruding out of an affected infant's back. Spina bifida may also be nearly inconsequential, or may be repairable through surgery.

Causes of Nonstructural Scoliosis

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Nonstructural scoliosis is usually not a serious problem, since the curve is side to side. It can develop from a number of physical problems, including the following:

• Unequal leg length. This is a very common condition that can be caused by injury, a shortened Achilles tendon, or other structural in-born problems. Unequal leg length rarely causes any problems and in most cases requires no treatment other than a lift in one of the shoes to equalize the length.
• Muscle spasms.