Date Published: June/July 2014
Author: Max W. Cohen, MD, FAAOS
You may be surprised to learn that adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is the most common form of spinal deformity, affecting about three percent of the general population.
What is adolescent idiopathic scoliosis? Scoliosisis a term used to describe an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine. Idiopathic
means that there is no known cause for the scoliosis – it is not a result of trauma or injury, activity or exercise, carrying heavy
items, or posture. The word adolescent refers to the age group when scoliosis usually is diagnosed.