Scoliosis

Scoliosis is a three-dimensional spinal curvature condition in which the spine curves sideways and also rotates. It is not a single disease but a structural finding with several causes and patterns, including adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, congenital scoliosis, and scoliosis that develops in adulthood from degeneration of the spine. Some people have only a mild curve discovered on routine screening or imaging, while others experience visible asymmetry, back fatigue, stiffness, pain, reduced exercise tolerance, or progressive deformity over time.

Treatment options vary because the goals of care differ by age, curve size, skeletal maturity, symptoms, progression risk, and functional impact. In children and adolescents, clinicians often focus on whether the curve is likely to worsen during growth. In adults, the emphasis is often more on pain, mobility, posture, nerve symptoms, and maintaining daily function. Western care commonly includes monitoring, scoliosis-specific exercise, bracing, physical therapy, pain-focused management, and in selected cases surgery. Eastern and integrative approaches such as acupuncture, mind-body movement, and manual therapies are often explored for symptom relief, body awareness, and quality of life, though they generally do not have the same level of evidence for changing spinal curve magnitude as bracing or surgery in progression-prone cases.