What Is Scoliosis?

Question: What is scoliosis?

Answer: Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine when viewed from the front. The curve may be single or multiple.
It is seen in approximately 2–3% of the population and is most commonly noticed during adolescence.

Question: What is the Cobb angle?

Answer: It is the measurement used to quantify the degree of scoliosis.

Question: When does scoliosis require treatment?

Answer:
• < 20° Cobb angle: observation + exercises
• 20–40°: bracing (up to 23 hours/day) + exercises
• > 40–45°: surgical evaluation
“Among curves above 20°, if growth continues, there is a risk of progression in approximately 60%.”

Question: When is scoliosis surgery needed?

Answer: Typically when the curve exceeds 40–45 degrees.