thoracic kyphosis

@suzy7 Hello Suzy, and welcome to Connect. I know it's hard to watch someone become stooped over and develop kyphosis. I watched my dad go through this and it creates a balance issue increasing a risk of falling. We took him to physical therapy and he wouldn't follow through with advice and home exercises from the therapist. As much as she did with hands on stretching at his appointments, he always took the easy route, falling into a chair and my mom waiting on him instead of him getting up, standing up straight and going to the kitchen himself.

There can be conditions like osteoporosis and spine compression fractures that cause kyphosis or discs that wear out and bulge pitching the spine into an abnormal curve. The vertebrae can develop some instability and slide past each other a bit. Bad posture puts pressure on the spine that puts wear and tear on a weakened spine helping to advance the problem. Sometimes with advancing age, a person may not be a surgical candidate, and spine surgery could makes this much worse and leave a person in constant pain. That recommendation must be made by a spine specialist. It is worth asking, and a back brace may help keep it from getting worse and be a non invasive approach. Does your spouse use a walker for balance? Have you discussed this condition with your primary care physician?

Gene is 81, very physically fit as he has had exercise equipment at home for over 20 yrs. I have mentioned my concern to him, but he doesn’t take it seriously. His attitude & hard-working history would help greatly, however, I believe he does not think he is getting kyphosis. The curvature looks fairly slight, & he gets chirotherapy 4-5 times a year for back and muscle pain. I thank you for your reply! Seems I need to convince him to see a specialist, and perhaps get a brace.

Hi Suzy!
I have back problems as well and I'm 76. I found a great back support at Miles Kimball online. It really helps my back and the curvature of it. At Miles Kimball it is called a "posture corrector". Just do a Google search for Miles Kimball and you'll be able to find it. It costs about $29 and often they offer 10% off and free shipping. I've used these back supports for years and wouldn't be without them! It makes your back feel so much better!

Hope things work out for your husband!
PML

Thank you for your reply! I will look into your suggestion tomorrow. Thanks again, Suzy

Hello @suzy7. I'd like to add my welcome along with @jenniferhunter. Because you originally posted in the Just Want to Talk Support Group, you will notice I have moved it to the Spine Support Group to allow for more members to see it and connect with you.

That makes sense - thank you!