Levoscoliosis
What is Levoscoliosis?
Scoliosis refers to a spine curvature that is going towards any direction. Levoscoliosis is a type of scoliosis problem which involves the abnormal curvature of the spine going to the left region of the body. It affects the lumbar part of the spine known as Lumbar Levoscoliosis, and can also manifest an impact on the thoracic spine.
The signs and symptoms of this condition is the same with classical scoliosis, but the major difference is that the heart is also found on the left side as well.
Even though the spinal column is not involved mainly with how the heart functions, the curvature can still put force on the ribcage following a deformity and be associated with other possible health problems of the heart and lungs.
What are the Symptoms of Levoscoliosis?
In mild cases of levoscoliosis, patients do not present any clinical signs or symptoms. Nonetheless, in individuals who have a spine that is significantly curved, their activities of daily living can be altered. Another possible problem here is a difficulty in determining the right clothes to wear to attain comfort.
Common symptoms include:
- Walking while bending down
- Pain in the back
- Changes in posture that are noticed after the pain had occurred for a couple of months
- One leg might look like it is shorter compared to the other one
- Height of both shoulders differ from each other
- Ribcage looks deformed
- Body seems to be tilting on one side
- Left shoulder blade is protruding
- Each side of the hip are at different heights
- Muscles located on the left side of the body contracts which causes spasms to develop
A person can be a little breathless due to the restricted expansion of the lungs enclosed in a narrowed thoracic cage. If the condition is suspected, the person should immediately make an appointment to the physician who could diagnose the problem with a physical examination together with an X-ray in order to confirm any findings. Once it is confirmed, a treatment plan can be given by the healthcare practitioner that will best suit the patient.
What are the Causes of Levoscoliosis?
There are no specific causes cited for levoscoliosis and the ones that cause it are also similar problems that cause scoliosis in general. In many instances, the abnormality had already been present since birth that corrects itself at times. The presence of the condition in the thoracic spine strongly indicates that a tumor is present in the spinal cord.
The following circumstances can possibly cause the condition:
- Poor posture – This is a predisposing factor and does not cause any pain unless the person tries to straighten it.
- Neuromuscular – The nerves that go into the muscles that hold up the spine is not controlled.
- Idiopathic – The person looks normally healthy and the cause is not known.
- Degenerative – It happens as the person’s age gets older and the spine is easily degenerated or maybe the vertebral discs will be herniated.
- Congenital – The bones of the spine have abnormally assembled.
- Puberty – Due to hormonal changes, the spine has the tendency to grow more rapidly than the muscles. In addition, the muscles are also weakened and levoscoliosis can simply show up.
How is Levoscoliosis Treated?
Mild cases of levoscoliosios do not need any treatment since they could be corrected by themselves. Nevertheless, if the misshapenness is quite obvious, treatments will apply but still varies on the patient’s age and the curvature angle.
Treatments may include:
- Braces – It can either be a soft or a hard brace to reduce the pain felt by the patient and prevent the curve from progressing. The muscles can also be stimulated and the vertebral column becomes stabilized.
- FED method – This treated many individuals which involve the 3D fixation of the spine.
- Physical Therapy – The sessions basically involve some exercises that could strengthen the muscles on the side that had been weakened. Other exercises can also be done to correct the posture.
- Surgery – This is highly recommended if the spine angle is over 45 degrees, but may not be able to totally reduce it. Physical therapy is still being needed during the recovery period.
References:
- What is Levoscoliosis?, Symptoms of Levoscoliosis, Levoscoliosis Causes, Treatment, Physical therapy, Braces, The FED method, Scoliosis surgery at http://mddk.com/levoscoliosis.html
- http://www.healthandlivingmag.com/Levoscoliosis_What_it_is_Causes_Symptoms_Treatments/
- http://scoliosisbrace.ca/levoscoliosis/
- Kim H, Kim HS, Moon ES et-al (2010). Scoliosis imaging: what radiologists should know. Radiographics. 30 (7): 1823-42.
- Van goethem J, Van campenhout A, Van den hauwe L et-al (2007). Scoliosis. Neuroimaging Clin. N. Am;17 (1): 105-15.
- Cassar-pullicino VN, Eisenstein SM (2002). Imaging in scoliosis: what, why and how? Clin Radiol. 57 (7): 543-62.