Question

How does scoliosis affect the adult body? Besides the spine, does scoliosis affect other parts of your body?

Answer 1

The sideways curve in the backbone of an individual is called scoliosis. The spine makes an angle that may be small, large or somewhere in between. There are various causes of scoliosis like cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy etc.

Complete answer:
Most of the cases are mild but in some cases the condition may become more severe and may lead to deformities in the growing children. In severe cases the spinal curve can reduce the amount within the chest which makes the proper functioning of lungs difficult.
The symptoms of scoliosis are uneven waist, one shoulder blade, a pairing more prominent than the other, one hip higher than the other etc. It leads to back stiffness, fatigue due to muscle strain, pain and numbness in the legs and lower back pain.
In adults degenerative scoliosis is observed which usually develops in the lower back due to the wear in the disc joints and the spine because of age.
In neuromuscular scoliosis the muscles of the body are damaged so it does not support our spine correctly causing the back to curve.
So in severe cases of scoliosis not only the rib cage and spine are affected but other organs like heart, lungs and various other internal organs may also be affected. In adults this mostly affects thoracic or rib cage and the main concern is the lumber or lower spine.

Note: In several cases it is mild and does not require much of the treatment only the symptoms are treated to reduce the pain. There may be changes in the appearance of the body depending upon the changes in the degree of the spinal curve.