My grandson was diagnosed with scoliosis last year when he was entering middle school. His mother had him playing sports very young and he fell a lot. I was worried and now believe that this is what caused the back problem, pushing him too hard.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, curvature of the spine with no known cause, is very common. Up to three people out of every 100 have curves in their spine to some degree. It most often is detected in the early teens and more girls are found with it than boys, although it’s not uncommon in boys.

Playing sports will not cause scoliosis as it isn’t caused by trauma or bone weakness. It is something that doctors don’t yet know why it happens.