Scoliosis of the spine is a condition where the spine is curved from side to side. An X-ray will reveal that the spine has become the shape of the English letter C or even S. This state is often a congenital issue, that is to say that it is present from birth. In other cases, the actual cause behind it is unknown, and in case of some other patients, it is the secondary symptom of something primary. Most scoliosis cases are idiopathic, that is devoid of any apparent root cause. Scoliosis of the spine symptoms are more often than not very prominent and they develop with time.
Signs and Symptoms of Scoliosis
When you suspect that there is something wrong with the shape of the spine and get an X-ray done, the truth is revealed. However, there are some symptoms of scoliosis which are apparent even before the checkup is done. Here are some of these symptoms:
- Uneven muscle presence on one side of the spine.
- Uneven hips, arms or length of the shoulders. You may find that clothes that used to fit you fine, suddenly don’t fit you properly anymore such as one leg of a pant being longer than the other.
- In some cases, scoliosis leads to slowing down of the action of the nerves.
A common test which is used for checking scoliosis is called the Adam’s Forward Bending Test. The doctor here asks the patient to bend down from the waist and try to touch his own feet. He observes the patient during this time and then checks on the following symptoms:
- Whether both shoulders are of the same height or whether one is higher than the other.
- Whether one shoulder blade sticks out particularly more than the other or not.
- Whether one side of the rib cage appears to be at a higher position than the other.
- Whether one hip looks like it is higher than the other or not.
- Whether one leg appears to be shorter than the other or not.
- Whether the waist looks uneven and the body seems tilted to one side.
- One leg may appear shorter than the other.
- Whether the head appears to be not positioned in the center.
In certain severe case of scoliosis, pressure is created on the heart and the lungs, thus making them unable to function properly. This leads to breathing trouble and chest pain. Back pain is also one of the most significant, but not the only, symptoms of scoliosis, but scoliosis is not the only reason behind back pain.
