How do you manage the effect of Kyphosis and Scoliosis?

Hello @notmoff. I am sure the bloat you are experiencing has to be both uncomfortable as well as frustrating given your posture. As a way to relieve symptoms, I am wondering if you've read much on gut health and what you might be able to include in your daily regimen that could be helpful and, at least, reducing symptoms a bit?

Thanks for the response Amanda.
I believe most of my bloat is due to the obstipation and twisting of my body - mostly beyond my control. But you asked about gut health.
I question my choice to eat a plant based diet because the sources of of protein tend to be beans that are gassy.
I am eating down the bok choy, kale, kohlrabi, cabbage and other crucifers in my refrigerator that add to the gas. They will be partially replaced with spinach, beets & their greens, chard, carrots, peas, corn, celery , artichokes and other somewhat less nutritious vegetables.
I will chew my food more thoroughly before swallowing.
I will continue to get my carbs from quinoa, millet, red and sweet potatoes, nuts & seeds (protein) . I plan to add fish for protein. I avoid antibiotics and prepared foods. The pain is greater if I eat as much food as I did my first 79 years, so I will "graze".
I have been deleting and unsubscribing from doom and gloom emails.
I am open to suggestions.

oh my. i am in a very similar state with a 6” loss. i am 59 years old. i have 10 compression fractures. and intermittent extreme costochondritis. i have a bloated, painful gut and am inexplicably underweight at 98 lbs for the last six months. i have had many GI tests and cancer screens showing nothing amiss or fixable. i agree that my gut is probably contorted due to spine compression. i eat similarly, with grain and nuts on hold now because i have severe daily migraines. (9 ER visits in less than two years). i eat four or five small meals/snacks daily. i wonder if i have adhesions, too. i went to the ER once because my stomach pain was so bad. i was using ice packs on my stomach many times a day for almost a month. it helps and i recommend this. i wish i knew why, while i eat well, with lots of ghee and butter and olive oil, and digestive enzymes, that i remain skeletal. my primary care dr literally told me to stop looking for the reason i feel so sick and weak and am so ‘malnourished’. my GI dr said he has done all the investigation possible for my weight loss and pain. that is really appalling. i will write more, but wanted to jump in with my similar status. my heart to you.

I look forward to your writing more about your situation. Although I am 20 years older than you, I have a lot to learn.
I hadn't thought of an ice pack to reduce my abdominal pain - a chronic ache peppered with sharp pains at the base of my bloat and radiating to the back.
I'll try it. Now my solution is to rest in my recliner and take a little more acetaminophen as long as I don't risk liver damage.
But I am getting behind in everything but the necessities which take much more time due to my slowness.
Is your focus on butter, ghee and olive oil an attempt to regain your lost weight? Has it worked?

my ice packs are soft, and i have used them several times a day when it is bad. what about the topical form NSAID diclofenac ? supposedly less challenging to livers. i have been avoiding nonveggie carbs since April, to reduce migraine triggers, as an experiment. i think i am in ketosis. i am not gaining weight back. i may have lost it originally from the level of pain i have been in starting in March. i cant use NSAIDS or the migraine meds (they all cause me rebound headaches). i am trying to slowly add rice and smallest amounts of fruit. i remember that there are enzymes that may help you digest the better veggies with maybe less bloat. i am also slow at everything. feel free to send me a private message, notmoff. maybe we can share more strategies.

My problems don't sound identical to yours (I had no problems with digestion, for one), but then my own increasing deformity, led to my needing a complex spinal reconstruction in 2016 at nearly 70, because my extreme kyphoscoliosis was making mobility almost impossible. (That was because, of the considerable pain). Over time I had lost 5 1/2" in height (I was told my back was 'collapsing').

I WAS relieved of my extreme deformity, though, by major reconstructive surgery (I was fused with titanium from T4 to the pelvis with bone laminectomies! ) I only regained a single inch in height net, but that's because of all the height lost from disk compression. I am also super stiff (d'uh!) from the lengthy fusions so that such formerly simple tasks as putting on shoes and socks are great challenges. So is toileting, but having a Bidet installed hade all the difference there, though not a complete fix. I have "grabbies" to reach items out of reach and which had fallen.

Before this surgery I also had minimally invasive neurosurgery on my cervical spine to relief cervical stenosis which had grown to impinge on my spinal cord to where I was told I was certain to perish from paralysis - chest down - if I suffered even the most trivial jolt/injury which would lead to respiratory failure.

I gradually realized that all these problems stemmed largely from undiagnosed Ehler Danlos Syndrome (hypermobility type). And to think I had thought I was blessed with extreme flexibility - a great plus in my gymnastics, yoga and bellydancing!

(Numerous other joints required surgery over the years too - i.e., basal joints of both thumbs and repair of extreme bunions on my wide feet.)

I went through that long operation with a much researched surgeon who specialized in the surgery, after having had to delay it for many years because I had no one to help me with the recovery, During that time, nerve damage (which could been repaired) became permanent leaving me with double incontinence (Cauda Equina Syndrome) and more insensitivity. I also woke from surgery "toeing out" on one side which creates a gait abnormality. (Surgeon denied any connection with this new development!). Likewise, I now have numbness across my mid-lower back and perineal area (the worst is when I have an itch I can't relieve!) I also was left with "flat back syndrome" which is gradually leading me to walk tilted forward - and carefully!

I now realize I was overly impressed with this famous surgeon (I had interviewed seven) who was over-rated, being better as a researcher than a surgeon.

At almost 77, I am looking into a revision surgery though with considerable trepidation (I hope the new surgeon can correct the flat lordosis), and hopefully also the "toeing out". (I know it's too late to do anything about the nerve damage.)

You are older than me, and have different related medical reason which might mean such reconstructive surgery might not be allowed (Worried about your compression compression fractures! How is your bone density?) Some surgeons don't want to operate on older patients, anyhow, but there are at least a few competent ones who do (I did a LOT of homework!). It's an intrinsically dangerous operation with no guarantees, and people only go through it (older people particularly) because they can no longer tolerate the pain.

Note, if turns out that your skeletal deformity is behind your severe digestive problems, consider that another of the eventual risks of kyphoscoliosis (perhaps the most common) is that patients lose the ability to breath normally because their lungs are compressed! they need to check up your recovery over time.

I have 7 compression fractures and spinal stenosis in neck and lower back. i have lost only 3 1/2 inches but my tummy definitely sticks out and I have digestive issues. I am trying to change my diet to include more veggies but the bulk of veggies is a problem. I eat a lot of chicken salad to keep calories up (I also have many food sensitivities). Pain is a part of life now. On the days that I can walk, it helps. I also do tai chi which stretches me upward, so to speak.

I did have bloating as a result of an adverse reaction to a vaccination. The bloating was eventually attributed to SIBO and was treated. I started having similar symptoms after another vaccination and sought another solution. I read a book called, “Super Gut”. It’s by Dr. William Davis who also wrote the Wheat Belly series. Since the Wheat Belly books provided me great insight and much improved health, I started with the recommendations in Super Gut. I don’t have the bloating issue any longer and feel much better. The practices in Super Gut require real effort, you have to be willing to commit yourself to the changes. I’m using Essentrics to improve my flexibility and build strength in my spine as well as the rest of my body. The large Salonpas work well for overnight pain, 8 hr. Variety. During the day I bought a TENS-unit from Amazon and used it for the appropriate time recommended by the directions. Using the TENS-unit usually gave me about 4 hrs. Relief. I have 6 spinal fractures and a thorax that has no room for my organs; they are also stacked on each other and protrude outwardly! Funny little fact no one mentions to you. Hope this helps you. There are better days ahead.

I too did not have joint issues until old age. I now continue to recommend prolotherapy along with physical therapy later. My terrible back issues got underway after a fall on the ice required a hip fix that left one leg shorter than the other. The SI Joint accommodated that by hyperextending continually and prolotherapy fixed the "lax ligament" that the hyperextension had caused. I did develop a mild scoliosis.
Unfortunately the 3 years it took me to find a fix pushed the other hip out of place and another operation from a DR. who didn't believe the problem and didn't tell me, left me in bad shape with a hip that continually moved around! UGH! The result is the entire spine is now "wiggley".
Another prolotherapy treatment from my regenerative medicine doctor tightened the ligaments of my cervical joints and I am relatively much better.... just out of shape and that is difficult for us oldsters to rebuild. Do check some of this out... National Spine and Pain Centers do this work, among others. It is not yet covered by insurance but worth every penny!

Prolotherapy was a miracle for my daughter (SI joint and knee and I have been wondering about it for myself (x-ray only shows very mild degeneration in hip so it is possible to do prolotherapy). Thanks for posting!