New guy here with Kyphosis

[jfisher]

Just wanted to introduce myself.

I was diagnosed with Kyphosis back when I was about 16 in high school. I wore a back brace for about a year and a half, but I don't think it really did anything. In fact I hated wearing it, and it was extremely painful to wear.

Well fast forward about 8 years, and I'm starting to have some back pain. Recently, I've been waking up, 4-5 times at night with my back killing me and it's causing me to barely get any sleep and it's affecting my performance at work. Sometimes I can barely keep myself awake during the day.

I've had the same bed since back in high school and have never had any issues until the past couple months.

I'm going to my primary doctor tomorrow to see who he recomends, and I've also already made an appointment to go see Dr. Rohmiller of the Cincy Spine Institute on monday. I prefer to get multiple opinions.

http://www.cincinnatispineinstitute....rohmiller.html

This looks to be a great site full of good information. I'm mainly going to be researching what options I have, even though I've NEVER had good luck with any conservative methods. I'll also be trying to research on what insurance will cover, if anything at all.

[LindaRacine]

Hi jfisher...

And welcome!

It's a good thing that you're going to see specialists. It's possible that you'll need surgery to correct your kyphosis.

In the meantime, you may want to try a different sleeping position. If it's only bothering you at night, it seems to me that it's almost certainly a problem with your sleep position. In my own case, I've found it very difficult to move away from a favored position, but it's possible. If you sleep on your tummy, that could definitely be a problem.

Here's an excerpt from SpineUniverse:

Sleeping and spinal health
Many people lose valuable sleep as they toss and turn because of a poorly supportive mattress and pillows. This places stress on spinal tissues leading to restless nights and painful mornings.

To protect your spine while sleeping:

* Choose a mattress firm enough to prevent “hammocking” which reverses the natural curves. At the same time, your mattress should not have an overly-firm, but soft surface (e.g., pillow-top, Visco-Elastic ) to cushion the body and reduce tossing due to restricted circulation.

* Do not use feather, particle foam or too many pillows that poorly positions the neck. Select a pillow that maintains its supportive shape, to keep the neck in its neutral position.

* Avoid sleeping on your stomach if you wake with neck stiffness or pain. Stomach sleeping turns your head to one side stressing the neck. If you can, change to sleeping on your back, or sleeping on your side. If you cannot, you can have the sensation of stomach sleeping and effectively decrease neck rotation by placing a body pillow under one side of your body.

Good luck!

Regards,
Linda

[jfisher]

Thanks for the response Linda!

I guess I did forget to mention that I also am starting to get some pains sitting at work. I work at a computer all day and sit in the same chair pretty much all day. But I've had an ergonomic assessment, and everything checked out ok.

My bed pretty much fits that exact description as my parents were aware of those issues because I was diagnosed so early. I've probably had that bed for 5-6 years now. I always sleep on one of my sides. I've never been able to sleep on my stomach and I wake up even more often when I sleep on my back.

[bscoli]

Schroth for Kyphosis

Hi
If you're doing research, consider the Schroth method. More at: http://www.schrothmethod.com/ Physical therapists at Spinal Dynamics are using the method's approach and seeing success with kyphosis. Call them and ask to talk with Amy specifically about kyphosis and Schroth. Their Web site: www.sdwpt.com

[Snoopy]

Hi and welcome!

Not sure if I can help or not, but wanted to share the fact that my daughter had surgery to correct both her Kyphosis and Scoliosis about 4 1/2 years ago. Before surgery, her Kyphosis was about 71* and about 33*, I think, after surgery. She is doing great! Any questions, feel free to ask.

Mary Lou

[titaniumed]

Hi J

One cheap and easy way to 'improve the hammocking" on your bed is to lay a sheet of plywood under your mattress and above your box spring. I finally ended up with a tempurpedic after quite a few different beds over the years.

Sitting at a desk all day without movement is tough. Try to stay mobile, get up and walk around every once in a while.

Keep us informed as to what Dr Rohmiller says

Ed

[jfisher]

Whoa, back from the dead!

So Dr. Rohmiller did suggest stretches back when I went to him about 5 years ago now and I'll be honest I have not been very good about doing those until recently. I have been having extreme lower - mid back pain during the night. Sometimes its tough to physically get out of bed. I need to go back and follow up with him. For now I have been researching lower back stretches and they help slightly to relieve the pain then and there. I really want to find the root cause, however.

I actually came back across this thread because I'm looking into purchasing a new mattress and I'm leaning towards a firm memory foam, gel top mattress. I have an Ikea bed frame which uses the wooden "slats" directly under the mattress so that is a plus.