Scheuermann's Disease

Scheuermann's disease of the thoracic and lumbar spine

Scheuermann's disease, or Scheuermann's kyphosis, is a condition in which the normal roundback in the upper spine (called a kyphosis) is increased. Most people with Scheuermann's disease will have an increased roundback (e.g. a hunch back or hump back) but no pain.

The name of this condition comes from Scheuermann, the person who in 1921 described changes in the vertebral endplates and disc space that can occur during development and lead to kyphosis, or roundback deformity of the thoracic spine (upper back).

There is some confusion in terminology, however, as Scheuermann also described changes that occur in the disc spaces of the lumbar spine that can lead to back pain. This is really another condition, called juvenile disc disorder, but is often confused with Scheuermann's kyphosis and is sometimes called Lumbar Scheuermann's disease. To avoid confusion, the preferred terminology is now:

Scheuermann's disease (or Scheuermann's kyphosis) to describe the condition of adolescent kyphosis

Juvenile disc disorder (or juvenile discogenic disorder) to describe the condition of adolescent degenerative disc disease.

Scheuermann's kyphosis

This condition (also called Scheuermann's disease) occurs when the front of the upper spine does not grow as fast as the back of the spine, so that the vertebrae become wedge-shaped, with the narrow part of the wedge in front. The wedge-shape of the vertebra creates an increase in the amount of normal kyphosis (front angulation of the thoracic spine) (See Figure 1).

The wedging of vertebrae in Scheuermann's kyphosis is most common in the thoracic spine (upper back), with the apex of the