← Return to Camptocormia (bent spine syndrome or BSS): Looking for others

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@richardcampto

I was recently diagnosed.. with Camptocormia,, I tried a $1000 brace but it did not help, as my problem is with weakness in the muscles in the low back that hold me up (proper name escapes me) anyway the brace seems to be for bending in the mid back,, L1 and above. All I have researched seems that P.T. might help, and Deep Brain Stimulation MIGHT help with severe cases..

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Replies to "I was recently diagnosed.. with Camptocormia,, I tried a $1000 brace but it did not help,..."

Hello @richardcampto, Welcome to Connect. I have not been formally diagnosed with Camptocormia but I'm pretty sure the diagnosis fits me also. My wife has told me I walk like an old man since I was in my 50s and now that I am an old man it's much worse. I walk leaning forward and it's difficult to stand up straight. I had thought about a brace but really wasn't sure it would help myself. I did have some PT a few years ago which were aimed at strengthening my lower back muscles which seemed to help some but sadly I haven't kept doing the exercises. I do need to keep doing them.

I found this article that might be something that will help and I may try to find myself an old backpack for a neighborhood walk with a few rocks 🙂
Back Extensor Strengthening Exercise and Backpack Wearing Treatment for Camptocormia in Parkinson's Disease: A Retrospective Pilot Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5608676/

I wasn't aware of the deep brain stimulation so had to look it up.
"There is no established treatment of camptocormia resulting from any etiology. Case series suggest that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) is effective in the acute but not the chronic stage of PD camptocormia." --- Pathophysiological Concepts and Treatment of Camptocormia: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5008234/

Is this the research you found?

I have not found any recent studies or reports regarding Deep Brain Stimulation. Can you point me in the right direction? Thanks, Robert