Kyphosis
The unphysiological kyphosis/hyperkyphosis is one of the most common malpositions of the spine. Colloquially, kyphosis is also called a hump. Kyphosis occurs primarily in the thoracic spine and, if not corrected, leads to rapid reinforcement of spinal flexion.
Cause
Severe kyphosis usually occurs in people who sit frequently and for long periods of time. In the age of increasing sedentary occupational activity, it is therefore understandable that spinal kyphoses are among the most common malpositions of the spine.
Therapy
Kyphoses should first be treated by regular physiotherapeutic exercises. This includes training of the autochthonous back muscles as well as the chest muscles and stretching of the same. Only with strong muscles can a constant straightening of the spine be achieved.
Even regular stretching can prevent a continuous deterioration of the postural deformities caused by excessive kyphosis. Very extreme cases of kyphosis must be straightened surgically. Under general anesthesia, the vertebrae must be lifted from each other and brought back into the correct angle.
In most cases, the corresponding vertebrae are then blocked and can no longer be moved. However, a prerequisite for this operation is that the patients are fully grown. Adolescents who are in the full growth phase would not benefit from this operation, as the spine would usually bend again at a neighboring location some time later.
For adolescents with severe kyphosis, corsets can be tried to help. It is important, however, that this corset must be worn over 3⁄4 of the day, in order to achieve a corresponding effect. The cooperation of young people is understandably rather limited in this case.In extreme cases of kyphosis, the angulation of the spinal column also leads to increasing narrowing of the spinal canal (spinal canal stenosis) with neurological deficits.
A frequent secondary disease of the spinal kyphosis is also a secondary herniated disc, which is caused by the fact that the increasingly inclined vertebral bodies on one side can no longer hold the disc in place, which leads to slipping of the discs. This can also lead to neurological failures. In case of neurological symptoms, surgery should be considered earlier and faster.
