Classmate, how is your spine?

Busy student life can make people feel backache from time to time. Classmate, your spine may be scoliotic! At present, scoliosis is gradually becoming the third largest killer of adolescent health after myopia and psychological problems. What exactly is scoliosis? Test whether your spine is curved or straight?

#1What is Scoliosis?

The human spine is located in the middle of the back. The spinal bone structure includes 24 vertebrae (7 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, and 5 lumbar vertebrae), 1 sacrum, and 1 coccyx. A normal spine is a straight line when viewed from the back, and is symmetrical on both sides of the body.

Image source: Pixabay

Scoliosis is the most common three-dimensional deformity of the spine, also known as scoliosis. As the name suggests, it refers to one or more segments of the spine deviating from the midline of the body and bending laterally, forming a curved spinal deformity, usually accompanied by rotation of the vertebral body, which may form C-shaped, S-shaped, and multiple arcs.

The International Scoliosis Research Society's definition of scoliosis is: use the Cobb angle measurement method to measure the spinal curvature on a standing anteroposterior spine X-ray. When the Cobb angle is greater than 10°, it is defined as scoliosis.

The Cobb angle measurement method is named after John Robert Cobb, an American orthopedic surgeon. It is the most commonly used method for measuring scoliosis angles. Scoliosis can be divided into mild (10°~20°), moderate (20°~40°) and severe (>40°) according to the size of the Cobb angle.

#2Why is the spine bent when it is in good condition?

There are two types of scoliosis: non-structural scoliosis and structural scoliosis, and the causes of each are different.

Non-structural scoliosis includes postural scoliosis, painful scoliosis and compensatory scoliosis. This type of scoliosis is not accompanied by changes in the shape of the vertebrae such as spinal vertebral rotation, but is simply a lateral curvature of the spine. It is usually caused by long-term incorrect sitting and standing postures, unequal lengths of the lower limbs (long and short legs), waist and leg pain (such as lumbar disc herniation, tumors), etc. As long as these problems are solved, the scoliosis will disappear or decrease, which is also the most common situation we encounter in our daily lives.

Image source: Pixabay

Structural scoliosis includes idiopathic scoliosis and non-idiopathic scoliosis, and the causes and classifications are even more diverse.

#3 Double “killer” of physical and mental health

Don't ignore scoliosis. It not only affects growth and development, but also causes physical deformities such as winged shoulders, razorback (the back is not at the same height on both sides when bending over), pelvic tilt, and uneven shoulders. The cardiopulmonary function, spinal mobility, coordination function, and abdominal organ function of patients with scoliosis are easily affected. Severe scoliosis may also compress nerves, involve the spinal cord, and even cause paralysis. Some patients with scoliosis may not experience physical pain immediately, but as time goes on, pain problems in the waist, back, shoulder blades and other parts will gradually appear. Abnormal spinal sequence can lead to changes in the length of soft tissues such as muscles around the spine, weakening or imbalanced muscle strength, and then aggravating scoliosis. In addition to the physical impact, scoliosis can also have a negative impact on the mind, affecting self-confidence and causing people to have negative emotions such as inferiority and depression. Once scoliosis is targeted, it will cause great harm to the physical and mental health of young people.

#4How to tell whether it is straight or curved?

Having said so much, how can we tell whether scoliosis has occurred? After all, mild scoliosis (less than 20°) usually does not cause obvious body deformity in appearance, nor does it cause obvious pain or discomfort. After taking off your shirt, you can look in the mirror and observe from the front to see if your shoulders are uneven. You can also ask your family and friends to observe from behind to see if the spine has deviated from the midline. If the back is uneven on both sides, one shoulder blade is high and the other low, the pelvis is not at the same height, or one shoulder blade is obviously protruding, or the two sides of the back are not at the same height when you bend over, scoliosis may have occurred.

#5 How to deal with scoliosis

If you find the above situation, you should go to the hospital immediately to take a standing full spine X-ray for the doctor to diagnose. Because during adolescence, scoliosis will progress as the body grows and develops.

Non-structural scoliosis requires symptomatic treatment based on the cause. However, since the cause of idiopathic scoliosis is still unclear, it is difficult to treat it fundamentally. The main treatment methods are conservative brace therapy and surgical treatment. Since conservative treatment has the characteristics of less trauma, fewer complications, and is beneficial to the patient's physical and mental health development, it is often recommended as the first step of treatment. If the Cobb angle is greater than 50°, surgery needs to be considered. Although surgery can effectively correct scoliosis, it also has the disadvantages of being highly traumatic, expensive, and may cause spinal ankylosis and internal fixation devices to remain in the body.

The treatment method to be used depends mainly on the degree of scoliosis and the risk of progression. Everything must be based on the doctor's scientific diagnosis. As the future "backbone" of the motherland, we should maintain the correct posture and actively pay attention to our spinal health in our daily study and life. This is the best way to avoid scoliosis.

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: Dai Chunyan, Physician at Southwest University Hospital, Master of Sports Medicine

Review experts: Huang He, Li Chunli, Chen Tao, Xu Xiaoping

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