Head is not centered with the rest of the bodyīecause many of the symptoms of specific spine conditions overlap, accurate diagnosis and careful monitoring are essential to planning the most successful course of treatment for your child.With research, orthopaedic leaders at CHOP hope to be able to predict spine conditions and treat them before many of the symptoms begin.ĭepending on the age of the child and the severity of the condition, spinal deformities can cause a variety of symptoms, including: Recent research at CHOP to identify a gene mutation as a potential cause of idiopathic scoliosis won a Hibbs Award from the Scoliosis Research Society, an international organization dedicated to the education, research and treatment of spinal deformities. Orthopaedic doctors regularly collaborate with The Center for Applied Genomics at CHOP, one of the world's largest genetics research programs and the only center at a pediatric hospital to have large-scale access to state-of-the-art throughput genotyping technology. Other spinal deformities, like idiopathic scoliosis, have no known cause and are not associated with an underlying disease.Ĭlinicians at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia are actively researching a range of spinal deformities. Some spinal deformities are due to injury or repeated trauma such as sports injuries, and some are caused by disease like malignant spinal tumors or benign spinal tumors. There are a number of health problems that may cause the spine to curve more than normal or to be misaligned.Ĭongenital (acquired before birth) deformities of the spine occur when bones or vertebrae do not develop properly during pregnancy. Kyphosis, including Scheuermann disease and postural kyphosis.Our surgical team performs 3,000+ orthopaedic surgeries a year, including more than 250 surgeries specifically on children with spinal deformities related to scoliosis. The orthopaedic spinal team at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) offers comprehensive evaluation and treatment for children with all forms of scoliosis and kyphosis. The spine also may be rotated or twisted, pulling the ribs along with it to form a multidimensional curve that may impair breathing. However, certain spine conditions that affect children during their early or late childhood years - and sometimes even before birth - curve the spine more than normal or deform it. When viewed from behind, the spine should run straight down the middle of the back. When viewed from the side, a healthy spine has gentle curves to it, which help the spine absorb stress from body movement. The spine, or backbone, is made up of small bones (vertebrae) stacked - along with discs - one on top of another.