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  • Upper back kyphosis

    Hello,

    I’m a 32 year old male, started to notice my back wasn’t quite right when I was about 17, but thought nothing of it. Finally saw someone when I was 25 and got a diagnosis of scoliosis, later scoliokyphosis. I would say its mild to moderate but has caused my back to hunch at the top of my spine, which i believe is quite noticeable.

    Are there any men out there that are dealing with something similar to this, and if so how do you deal with work and general life in public?

    Thanks,

  • #2
    There are a few of us around here.....

    Work and general life?.....Well, you can read through many of my posts....I eventually quit my job and started my own business so I could have complete control over my medical insurance. If you need a serious adult scoliosis surgery, it always helps to have good insurance if you think you are close to needing surgical intervention.

    I started having the aches that scoliosis provides around age 28, and I started with Chiropractic in 1986. I am a lifelong skier so it was an easy way to deal with pain without medications. Please understand that Chiropractic will not correct spine curves and they are not medical doctors since they do not have a MD degree. We can talk about this later...I have had a few thousand adjustments and have seen around 10 chiropractors over the years.

    Massage is always helpful, along with hot soaks. Hot water immersion is also an easy way to get some relief. Simply laying down is the easiest way to pain relief. Its the first thing I do when I get into trouble.

    I never took medications my whole life, and I am not exactly pro med if you know what I mean....but have done some powerful stuff during my surgeries. Man-o-man! Luckily I weaned and hopefully didn't do too much damage to my liver and my kidneys. NSAID's or Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory medications are medications you will probably use at some stage as they do work quite well if you get into trouble. They are life savers. I have taken Diclofenac, Celebrex, Bextra, and Naproxen in the past.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonste...lammatory_drug

    Always read the fine print if you take medications. You will be surprised.

    It would be a good idea to see a scoliosis surgeon for an evaluation. They are the only ones qualified to make a judgement call, and will also find things the others will miss. Their highly specialized training takes around 20 years. Regular Medical doctors can practice after 4 years of med school.

    I am currently camping in the Eastern Sierra and moving around so I don't know if and when I will have connectivity to do a timely response.

    Did any doctors give you any Cobb angles? This is how they measure spine curves. You will have Cobbs on your scoliosis and your kyphosis. Its the Kyphosis that's critical.

    Are you in the United States?

    If you have any questions at all, go ahead and ask here on this forum. We have a lot of knowledgeable people here on the subject matter

    Welcome to the forum

    Ed
    49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
    Pre surgery curves T70,L70
    ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
    Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

    Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

    My x-rays
    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks for your detailed reply.

      I am from the UK. So in terms of healthcare I guess I'm pretty lucky as I don't have to worry about medical insurance. The last proper checkup/assessment I had was on the NHS (7 years ago), where they took an xray of my spine and said something along the lines of: Yes you have scoliokyphosis, do you want antidepressants? - and that was it...
      I'm not sure if this guy was a specialist because I didn't get offered any advice or told Cobb angles - maybe it was too mild for that?

      I went to a private company called Scoliosis SOS and they took some measurements. Apparently the scoliosis part is very mild, they didn't make any comment about the kyphosis part. They gave me some core strengthening exercises and stretches to do - after docking me £180.

      It's the Kyphosis I'm worried about. I don't want it gradually getting worst, as I believe it has done over the past 10 years. I think i will try and book another appointment with the NHS and get another xray - hopefully I will see a specialist this time.

      I do want to get a massage, but i'm struggling to find a good massage therapist that has an understanding of scoliosis. My physio advised against seeing a chiropractor because they couldn't correct my spine, like you say. He said that it would be a waste of money. But I guess you have found them helpful.

      I try and avoid pain meds, maybe just take the odd Paracetamol here and there.

      Thanks for the tips and well done on starting your own business/working from home. That's kind of a goal that I'm working towards at the moment - at least the working from home part. Do you mind if I ask what you do?

      Luke

      Comment


      • #4
        Luke, I am retired now. I sold my business when I went into my surgeries....it was a precision manufacturing facility in which we manufactured parts and assemblies for mainly semi (chip mfg) and the defense industry. The business had 24 CNC lathes and machining centers up to 10 axis. When I was 39, I worked over 100 hours a week and would take a day off around once every 6 months. This went on for around 3 years until the sciatica hit, that was in Jan 2002. I battled that brutal pain for 6 years until I finally gave up and submitted to surgery. 2 of them, front side, then back side.

        Some curves move like wildfire, and some hold. In general, as adults, figure roughly 1/2 degree to 1-1/2 degree per year progression.

        The curves really don't matter too much, its the degeneration, herniation's, impingement and the stenosis that really creates heavy nerve related pain in adults over age 40. I know a male with a 100 degree kyphosis age 45 who has no pain. I ask him on a regular basis, and he is ok. He was dxd by Dr Gupta here in the US.

        Once again, you should see a qualified Medical Doctor, an Orthopedic, but better for that Orthopedic to have training in spinal deformity. Do a consult, get copies of your dated x-rays burned to disc and keep these. If something should happen years down the road, the surgeons will want to see these. (Very Important)

        Normal kyphosis curves run approx 30-35 degrees. If you have a 100 degree kyphosis, that would essentially be equal to a 70 degree scoliosis curve. From the side (Sagittal) view, we have lordosis in the neck, kyphosis in the thoracic, and lordosis in the lower back.

        Some people can live with their curves and some cannot. Usually pain triggers surgery in adults (over age 40-45) Running into surgery is not advisable as an adult, its something that takes careful thought since there are complications that can happen. The list is huge, so maintaining core, and staying healthy should be a priority. Some elders are not surgical candidates due to poor health.

        The untrained that are out there making claims will do this to make a living, and they can and will make mistakes. What is troublesome is the folks who try to work with large curves that are surgical candidates. They really should direct or off these cases to qualified surgeons. This happens and then creates a serious spine scenario down the road. Timing is essential, Scoliosis and deformity is all about timing and some people need surgery and some do not.

        There is a poster named JMoe (Jay) who is male and in England. He used to post on the SSO Scoliosis Support in England years ago and he is a member here. He had kyphosis surgery a few years ago, he would be a good person to talk to. I believe he was operated on in London. You could PM (Private mail) him through the NSF system for a contact. I miss all the members from that forum, they shut it down a few years ago.

        You "could" take a photo of your back from the side and post it here. It doesn't sound like you are serious, but if its out of control, we will see it. Kyphosis is something you can see much easier than scoliosis curves. Scoliosis curves can hide themselves quite well. X-Rays really are the only way to see what is happening. If you have x-rays do post them here.

        Ed
        49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
        Pre surgery curves T70,L70
        ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
        Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

        Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
        http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

        My x-rays
        http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

        http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

        Comment


        • #5
          Sorry for the late reply, have been a bit busy recently.

          Hope you’re enjoying your retirement. I though you had some sort of small self employment thing going on, I didn’t realise I was talking to Elon Musk.

          I have an appointment with the GP and I’m going to insist that I see a specialist with good knowledge of scoliosis. I can’t find the x-rays but I have managed to find my old letters and they said that they found no abnormalities with the nerves or tissues degeneration. That was with an MRI scan (at 25). It does say that i have a minor kyphosis of the upper thoracic.

          I’m going to have a look at exercises to reduce my kyphosis.

          I’ll take a look and see if I can contact that guy you mentioned and i will post a couple of pics tomorrow.

          Luke

          Comment


          • #6
            I have attached some photos. I could only attach 2, hope it works.
            Attached Files

            Comment


            • #7
              Luke, the good news is, It doesn't look bad at all....when you get the x-rays, go ahead and post. It does look like you have a "slight" kyphosis, but I wouldn't worry about it.

              You realize that Doctors and radiology folks will report things however small and I myself have all sorts of lovely things in my reports (diverticulosis, liver cysts etc) that do not require doing much of anything or even worrying about....Heck, they even thought I had cancer at one point, and upon the surgeries didn't find any cancer.

              Thanks for the Musk compliment, I really admire his drive and his dreams. I myself have been known to geek out on things in the past. (Like buying very expensive equipment) Its a terrible addiction problem for us, but highly rewarding....(smiley face) Of course, once you commit, you have to follow through to make the financials work. Scoliosis patients who undergo serious scoliosis surgery also have to commit since there are marginal or limited guarantees, and sometimes things can go wrong and so we also have to bite the bullet. For manufacturing plants, if you want out, you sell. Surgical patients don't have it that easy because its lifelong. We cant reverse surgery.

              Exercise to change spine curves is something that people have done in the past, Douglas McArthur was one of them as he was rejected from West Point due to scoliosis.
              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_MacArthur

              What is interesting is that spine curves "usually" take years to form....so reversing those curves would also seem to take years to correct. Many of us around here have tried correcting curves with exercises and bracing, and while some might succeed, many of us do not. Braces generally hold curves in kids with growing spines, not correct. The only way to physically correct spine shape in adults is through surgery.

              Ed
              49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
              Pre surgery curves T70,L70
              ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
              Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

              Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

              My x-rays
              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks for your opinion, I appreciate it. It’s sometimes quite helpful to get a second opinion from someone other than family and doctors.

                I think its a good analogy. It’s a risk investing so much time, effort and money into something that may fail. I’m not quite sure how you managed 100hrs a week for that length of time - that’s dedication. They say that the majority of businesses fail within the first 1-2 years, hopefully the risks and complications of surgery are still very small. From looking at your pics it looks like all went well, your back looks completely normal and hopefully you’re not in too much pain.

                I forgot about Douglas_MacArthur, I remember reading about him a while back. Quite an inspiring story. He got rejected twice because of his scoliosis but kept up with the exercises. I wish i knew which ones he was doing : )

                I’ll let you know of any updates, and if I do go for the X-rays ill try and post them.
                Thanks again for all your advice.

                Luke

                Comment

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