Can chiropractic help with hunch back?

What are the causes of hunch back?

Having a hunch back or hyper kyphosis, is a very common condition for many people. it can be an annoyance that most people simply try to ignore throughout their lives. What most people don't know is that chiropractic care can be a great help to these people! Why do people get hunch back's? It is either caused from congenital abnormalities, compression fractures, osteoporosis causing a weaker spine or due to posture/ muscle imbalance. 

The three more common causes of hunch back are scoliosis (both functional and structural), postural kyphosis and a congenital deformity known as Scheuermann's disease.

• Scoliosis

Scoliosis can either be defined as functional or structural scoliosis. The difference between the two is that structural scoliosis is caused from the vertebrae being curved at birth from a congenital defect. Functional scoliosis is caused from muscular imbalance that pulls the vertebrae into an unnatural curve. Both of which can cause what is called a rib hump, which is where a portion of the rib cage elevates unevenly with spinal flexion due to the curving and twisting of the spine. 

• Postural

The most common cause of hunch back is postural. There is a condition called upper cross syndrome that results in the forward rolled shoulders, chin jutting forward and a hunched over posture. This is seen a lot with desk workers and students who spend a lot of time in a forward hunched over posture, with arms extended out Infront of them. This leads to excessively tight pectoralis major/minor, upper trapezius and SCM, as well as weak lower trapezius, rhomboids and deep neck flexors.

• Scheuermann's disease

There is a congenital skeletal condition called Scheuermann's disease. Scheuermann's disease is a congenital condition where the front of 3 or more adjacent vertebrae are wedged, which exacerbates the thoracic curvature. Scheuermann's disease is different than scoliosis in it usually doesn't include a rib hump with flexion, and the hyper kyphosis is often times focal to one area. 

How are these conditions diagnosed?

Often times, x-rays aren't necessary or needed to diagnose someone with the listed conditions. Chiropractors and other health care professionals are trained to evaluate and test many hunch back causing conditions. X-rays can be helpful to differentiate conditions, 

• To evaluate for fractures
• Pathologies
• Degeneration
• Misalignments
• Congenital abnormalities. 

Based on the patients history and symptoms your chiropractor will decide if x-rays are warranted. 

How can chiropractic care help with hunch back?

With all types of hunch back causing conditions, the spine is more susceptible to more pain, having more movement dysfunction and for most people a decrease in body image confidence. Chiropractic care is an amazing tool to help people obtain more functional spine. With a more functional spine, comes less pain, better movement and more confidence in spinal appearance. Chiropractors are also great at prescribing movement and symptom specific exercises to help the patient better treat their condition outside of the clinic. 

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