Etiology and pathogenesis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Despite many years of dedicated research into the etio-pathogenesis, not one single cause for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis has been identified. The purpose of this review is to give a comprehensive overview of the current evidence and main etiological theories. Intrinsic causal mechanisms are found in the alignment of the upright human spino-pelvic complex and growth patterns of the immature spine. Studies on potential extrinsic mechanisms are mainly focused on neuromuscular, metabolic, and genetic etiological pathways. We can conclude that scoliosis is the spine’s preconditioned response to a multitude of offenses that lead to a disturbance of the delicate human rotational spino-pelvic balance during growth.