Scoliosis Care
Scoliosis (derived from the Greek word meaning crooked) is a medical condition in which a person’s spine is curved from side to side. Although it is a complex three-dimensional deformity, on an X-ray, viewed from the rear, the spine of an individual with scoliosis may look more like an “S” or a “C” than a straight line.
Scoliosis is typically classified as either congenital (caused by vertebral anomalies present at birth), idiopathic (cause unknown, subclassified as infantile, juvenile, adolescent, or adult, according to when onset occurred), or neuromuscular (having developed as a secondary symptom of another condition, such as myotubular and centronuclear myopathy).
About 3 out of every 100 people have some form of scoliosis, though for many people it’s not much of a problem. For a small number of people, and sometimes children and young adults with neuromuscular conditions in particular, the curve gets worse as they grow and they may need an operation to correct it. While small curves generally do not cause problems and may not be very noticeable to others, larger curves can cause discomfort and lead to respiratory problems when the lungs become compressed.
Respiratory Care Advice for Scoliosis (PDF) Information taken from the British Thoracic Guidelines around peri-operative and scoliosis respiratory care. Or see British Thoracic Society Guidelines for respiratory management of children with neuromuscular weakness (full version) for an in-depth section on scoliosis and peri-operative management. (2012)
Frequently asked questions and answers about Scoliosis (PDF) This Q&A is from the web presentation (see below) and includes a glossary of terms. (2011)
Web presentations on Scoliosis and Respiratory Management
In 2011, Myotubular Trust joined up with USA patient organisations Joshua Frase Foundation and Cure CMD to arrange two web presentations (webinars) – one is on Scoliosis and one on Respiratory Management, to help inform patients and families with myotubular and centronuclear myopathy and congenital dystrophies.
Please see the Webinars here
Part 1: Pediatric Pulmonologist Hemant Sawnani, M.D., Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center: How we breathe and what goes wrong in congenital muscle disease? See the full presentation here from Dr Sawnani on You Tube.
Part 2: Professor Anita Simonds, Royal Brompton Hospital, London: Respiratory issues in congenital muscle disease and what we can do about them. See the full presentation here from Professor Simonds on You Tube. (NB this video is age restricted, so please click the ‘Watch on YouTube’ link on the screen to view, thank you).
Part 3: Dr Michelle Chatwin, Royal Brompton Hospital, London: Secretion Management Techniques. See the full presentation here from Dr Chatwin, on You Tube.
