Scoliosis: Congenital, Neuromuscular, Syndromic, and Other Nonidiopathic Types - Understanding and managing the condition: A practical guide for families

Sep 29, 2026

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Scoliosis: Congenital, Neuromuscular, Syndromic, and Other Nonidiopathic Types provides an evidence-based, accessible review of non-idiopathic spinal deformities for patients, families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. It explains etiology and pathoanatomy through a three-dimensional model, detailing congenital, neuromuscular, syndromic, and other non-idiopathic causes, plus classification by cause and age at onset. The guide outlines recognizable signs, stresses timely specialist referral, and describes treatment planning using history, exam, and imaging, including multi-planar radiographs and MRI.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Book overview

Main non-idiopathic types and causes

Three-dimensional pathoanatomy and classification

Development from in utero to skeletal maturity

Diagnosis and treatment planning

Signs, symptoms, and referral

Medical history, physical exam, and imaging

Treatment modalities and selection

Therapies and special considerations

Nonsurgical and surgical options

Congenital, neuromuscular, syndromic, and cord abnormalities

Patient and family perspectives

DOI: 10. 1111/dmcn.70054 B O OK R E V I E W Scoliosis: Congenital, Neuromuscular, Syndromic, and Other Nonidiopathic Types, Understanding and managing the condition: A practical guide for families By Tenner J. Guillaume, Walter H. Truong, Danielle Harding, Lily Collison, and Cheryl Tveit Gillette Children's Healthcare Series. St Paul, MN: Gillette Children's Healthcare Press, 2025,£45.00 (paperback), £10.00 (eBook), pp. 316, ISBN: 9781952181214 Brian Snyder Boston Children's Hospital – Orthopedic Surgery, Boston, MA, USA Part of the Gillette Children's Healthcare Book Series, this new title from Gillette Children's Healthcare Press and Mac Keith Press provides a lucid and comprehensive review of the etiology, pathoanatomy, and treatment of non-idiopathic types of spinal deformity. Based on evidence-based literature, it is written in a style that is accessible to patients, their families and caregivers, as well as being appropriate for healthcare professionals, researchers, educators, and students. The focus is on the four main types of non-idiopathic spine deformity. (1) Congenital – errors in vertebral development (i.e. failures of formation and/or segmentation). (2) Neuromuscular – consequence of neuromuscular conditions affecting the nervous and/or muscular systems (e.g. cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophy, spina bifida, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, arthrogryposis multiplex congenita). (3) Syndromic – induced by a genetic syndrome (e.g. Rett syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, neurofibromatosis, Down syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome). (4) Other non-idiopathic – provoked by spinal cord malformations – syrinx, Chiari malformation type I, or tethered cord syndrome. The authors introduce the three-dimensional nature of spine pathoanatomy, where the deformity occurs in all three anatomic planes involving different functional and structural regions of the spine (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacrum/pelvis). Scoliosis is the projection of the deformity onto the coronal plane, kyphosis/lordosis is the projection of the deformity onto the sagittal plane, and torsion/rotation is the projection of the deformity onto the axial plane. Spine development is examined from in utero to skeletal maturity, highlighting how the pubertal growth spurt accelerates deformity progression in adolescence, and also considers issues of adults with distorted spines during aging. The authors explain how spine deformity is classified according to the cause (congenital, neuromuscular, syndromic, or nonidiopathic spinal cord malformations) and age at onset (early – infantile or juvenile and later – adolescent). Common signs and symptoms of spine pathoanatomy that parents and care providers should notice are outlined and the importance of timely referral to a spine specialist is emphasized. Creating an effective treatment plan is predicated on a comprehensive medical history, physical exam, and imaging studies that includes multi-planar spine radiographs with or without magnetic resonance imaging to visualize all relevant musculoskeletal pathology. For each category of spine deformity, the book is structured to guide readers through the various treatment modalities, the selection based on the underlying diagnosis, patient age, anatomic location, severity of deformity, and coexisting medical comorbidities. Chapters 6 through 9 are dedicated to an overview of therapies, covering both nonsurgical options (observation, bracing, casting, physical therapy, alternative treatments) and surgical interventions (spinal fusion, growth-friendly spine instrumentation, halo gravity traction). Chapter 9 delves into specific considerations relevant to congenital, neuromuscular, syndromic, or non-idiopathic cord abnormalities. A unique aspect of this book is the inclusion of the lived experiences of children with scoliosis and their families. Complementing the didactic medical information, personal stories are interspersed t

FAQs

What are the four main types of non-idiopathic scoliosis covered in the book?

The book focuses on congenital, neuromuscular, syndromic, and other non-idiopathic types. Each type is linked to distinct underlying causes such as vertebral development errors, neuromuscular disorders, genetic syndromes, or spinal cord malformations.

How does the book explain the three-dimensional nature of spinal deformity?

It describes deformity across all three anatomic planes: coronal (scoliosis), sagittal (kyphosis/lordosis), and axial (torsion/rotation). This framework connects structural regions of the spine to functional impact.

What is emphasized about diagnosing and creating an effective treatment plan?

Parents and care providers are guided to notice common signs and symptoms and to seek timely referral to a spine specialist. Treatment planning is based on comprehensive history, physical examination, and imaging, including multi-planar radiographs with or without MRI to visualize musculoskeletal pathology.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Jake