I have been struggling with a "bad posture" problem since I was 13-14. However, it was only between 2 to 3 years ago that I was diagnosed with Schuermanns w/Scoliosis (26 now). These are my second set of X-rays that were taken in June 2023 while doing light stretching/PT. As per my specialist, there has been no improvement or worsening of the curvature.

Side View Kyphosis

Scoliosis View

I'm experiencing neurological symptoms due to upper spinal cord compression, such as bowel/bladder issues, balance/mobility problems, and pain. I went to physical therapy and balance therapy/worked on my core, which helped alleviate a lot of pain, but I still experience discomfort. Everyday tasks are challenging for me, and I'm prone to tweaking my back. Before my diagnosis, my pain was widespread, but now it's mostly localized to the area where my curvature starts and my hips.

I've been doing muscle-building workouts for 3-4 months on top of my at-home PT. My legs are stronger and more stable, but I still have occasional weakness/numbness and balance issues. Despite daily exercise, I feel stuck in my recovery. Maybe my muscles just need more time to get stronger.

My specialist suggested avoiding surgery due to my curve being under 70 degrees and the uncertainty of Schuermann's surgical intervention. However, seeing others' experiences with the same condition has made me wonder if I should seek more opinions on surgery.

What do you think about surgery? Have you been able to get real relief without it? I appreciate any personal experiences or opinions!

I've been doing some practices and I was wondering on his much it could even help

I am 17F and I have postural kyphosis. It isn't too horrendous on the scale? My hump is 50 some degrees? But everything I wear I feel absolutely disgusted with myself. I go to school and everyone has such perfect backs and I would kill for one. It's my biggest insecurity. I feel like I won't get anywhere in life. I want to get a degree in zoology and botony and work out in the field. But I feel like nobody is going to look at me and want to hire me. I avoid all public social situations I can beause I'm so disgusted with myself. I feel like I'm a lost cause. I'll never be pretty or liked for how I look. I feel completely hopeless. Am I truly a lost cause?

People keep telling me that the braces weaken the back muscles and therefore don't correct your posture. I've tried to ask people what about wearing it partially combined with exercise but have been met with the same negativity towards that too. One could only conclude that it must be a scam then...?I'm a 28 year old male with postural kyphosis and was wondering if I should get a kyphobrace or not.

I’ve always had trouble in my life with having these 2 problems, and I didn’t realize until recently of the name of my condition and how it could potentially have a play in this for me. I have a pretty severe structural kyphosis curve and was wondering if anyone else is having these issues?

Looking for positive stories with the ability to sit pain free after a fusion for kyphosis/scoliosis. Please share you story or DM me if you’re willing.

I am 34, male - and finally considering a T2-L1 fusion after years of unsuccessful conservative therapies for my ~55 degree scheuermanns kyphosis (severe thoracic degeneration and schmorls nodes)

What causes me the most pain is sitting/standing still for more than just a few minutes. Commuting via car/plane/train is the worst. Sitting at a desk for work isn’t great but still causes pain. Situations like sitting in meetings/trainings/briefings/church/out for dinner/etc for extended periods of time, are getting more and more unbearable as I age.

My goal is to be able to do these types of activities after healing from a fusion, and not be in pain. Has anyone been in the same situation and had positive results?

Feel free to recommend any sort of exercise, yoga, swimming, diet, or other conservative treatments. I’ll gladly take your experience, but please realize that I’ve likely already tried them for years without success.

Scheurmanns here, i’ve got a 80 degree curve and i’m fairly skinny and i was discussing surgery with him which is scheduled in december and he mentioned after that the rods / screws could be visible? i’m not sure what he means by that or if anyone does but id like to know. the whole idea of surgery has been stressing me out but im in pain all the time and the 80 degree in my spine kills my confidence, looks, attitude, everything. but the idea of being able to see the rods and screws in my back doesn’t help either.

Hey guys I got my fusion about 2.5 years ago. I don’t get sick a lot but when i do i get really bad back pain and especially right below or right at the incision point of my fusion. I know this is a better question for my doctor and they’ll probably just tell me it’s from inflammation, but i was wondering if anyone else has this problem too.

I have been doing decline pushups mostly and standard pushups and ngl I have been feeling better while doing them but I still just wanna make sure if they actually help improve kyphosis so I know if I'm gonna continue doing them continuously like I do now.

Hi everyone!

Hoping someone may have some insight. I am 30 and I got scoliosis surgery when I was 15. (I have 2 rods and 22 screws in my back. Idk my exact curvature before but I went from 5’2 before the surgery to 5’6 after).

I am overweight and I still suffer from kyphoscoliosis. I recently just started a job and the chair I’m sitting in is causing a new pain I’ve never had before. The kyphoscoliosis bump has this weird sharp/shooting pain. I got a monitor stand thinking that might help but nope. I’m still in lots of pain. I’m uncomfortable and have to stand every 20 or so mins to prevent it.

Just wondering if anyone else has ever had this problem? is there a certain office chair or cushion that could prevent it? Is there another subreddit I should be asking?

I don’t have health insurance yet (new job) so I can’t make a doctor appt. Just seeking some general insight.

thank you everyone 🙏🏻🙏🏻

crossposted bc Im desperate for help and don’t know where to turn

I have kyphosis and I've been aware of it since I was like 16 years old(as I was severely bullied about it in school), but I was unaware that anything could be done, and I have never seen a doctor about it, but I have been hugely self-conscious about it for my whole life.

I'm interested in getting information about what kinds of doctors I may need to speak with, and what may need to be done.

I know that the issue is significant enough that surgery will likely be needed, and I am willing to go to great lengths to get that done(up to and including travel, if required).

Also, for those who had surgeries, I'd love to hear about your stories about successes or issues you experienced afterward. Obviously I'd prefer local doctors, but even if you're far away, if you had good doctors and good results, I would love to get information about those doctors, too.

(And I used a throwaway account for this discussion, because I didn't want this connected to my main Reddit account.)

I am desperately trying to correct the kyphosis I have. I worked out pretty heavily yesterday and some exercises a day before that too, and ever since then my upper back shoulder region has been hurting and aching. I worked out today too, just yoga followed by some wool press exercises that had been instructed to me by the physical therapist I had seen up until a few months ago. Is the pain normal? Is that a good thing or a bad thing if I'm feeling pain? Does this mean the muscles are strengthening and by condition May improve, or does it mean I overdid it and strain the muscles in a negative way? Please advise. Also, so I continue to do what I've been doing, or give it a break and let the muscles heal?

Is the wedging fixable at my age?

Hello, i (22F) have recently been diagnosed with (hyper)kyphosis in my Thoraic spine after years of trying to find the source of many problems. I’m pretty sure it caused my millitary neck as well as mild strenghtening of my L-spine. I’ve got some mild DDD in the thoraic spine and i’m worried about developing it in the other areas as well and also of these worsening quickly. Do you think if i start working on improving my curve now with PT (ive heard its possible) i can somehow slow down the DDD process? I know that strenghtening does help but still… at this point i don’t know if there’s any hope for me and my future, rn i’m not in much pain but i feel like a timed bomb

Here's my x-ray and a photo I've taken from the side. Note that I am consciously keeping my posture up.

x-ray

side photo

Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time out of their day to read this long post. Ended up being longer than intended but need to vent.

Please, any positivity is appreciated right now (27, M). Created a throwaway account and hope I’m allowed to post this here.

A few days ago I was told by a doctor/surgeon that I have kyphosis after an MRI scan.

I’ve known that I’ve had bad posture and potentially kyphosis (through Google research) for a while and been trying to correct it myself with on/off exercises and physio. I see people everyday online or in-person with flatter backs and it constantly makes me self conscious.

I had the scan for non kyphosis reasons so when the doctor told me that I had it and it’s completely unfixable I struggled to speak, it caught me completely off guard and I felt like my world was coming down. So much to the point that I didn’t even care about the not so great news he gave me regarding the issue that the scan was for in the first place.

He said that I could have an operation but it could paralyse me and he doesn’t think the risk outweighs the reward. He also said that he wouldn’t operate because it’s “not that bad” but to me it’s really bad. He did show me the percentages but I can’t remember what they were as I was having an internal meltdown.

These last few days I’ve been a mess ever since, it’s made me ill. I’ve just hid in my room, barely eaten and ashamed to go outside. I couldn’t tell you the last time I cried before but after the appointment I spent 30 mins in my car crying.

I’m in a real dark and lonely place at the moment thinking about how I’m going to look like this for the rest of my life. I hate how my upper back / neck looks and it ruins my confidence which impacts my day to day (career/relationships). The summer is coming and I dread it. I spend it inside and alone because you can’t really conceal your posture with a T-shirt.

I have never been in a relationship partly because I’m ashamed of how I look with this and I’ve always thought maybe once I’ve fixed this I can start dating but now I’m just stuck like this. I also deleted social media years ago for the same reason and have pretty much become reclusive, losing a lot of friends.

I can’t talk to anyone about this in real life. I’m embarrassed about how I look. I love fashion but this just ruins any outfit, it’s just ugly. I can’t talk about the problem because it will just makes it worse, it either tells people I’m insecure or highlights it for the people that haven’t noticed.

Please, has anyone had any success in correcting their forward neck with physio/exercises?

I’m really struggling to be positive about life right now after this and thinking I can’t escape this. Before therapy is potentially suggested, I’ve seen numerous therapists (for other unrelated reasons) and never thought they were too helpful.

TLDR: Recently got diagnosed with kyphosis and a surgeon told me it’s not fixable. Looking for any positive stories around physio/chiro/exercise to give me some hope

So I'm almost 16 now, 186 cm tall and about two years ago I was diagnosed with Scheuermann's kyphosis, at around a 55 degree curve. I was given a brace which I wore on and off for the past two years and it improved my curve by like 5 degrees. I recently got another kyphologic brace, and I was wondering if curve correction is still possible at 16? My doctor told me to wear it around 18 hours a day, but is it gonna do anything at this age? When I took my first xray at 14 I was risser 2, but I dont know what stage I'm at right now. Is my body entirely done growing? Is there hope?

I joined a gym recently since the home exercises provided to me by my PT werent helping much . I avoid lifting weights instead i am doing chest press, bench press, lat pulldowns , even using a band and also doing dead hangs but it is still getting worse everyday. I feel that my muscles are not as tight as before but i still feel pain in my back after im done with the gym . Even when i sleep its making it worse . I have not used a pillow for 4 years now but i have tried keeping a pillow under my knees, using a very thin pillow and now even a folded towel under my upper back and head but nothing is helping. I even have an abusive family who doesnt care about me or what i go through. I cant even study because of this condition. I’m considering getting a new diagnosis and new exercises. Im 19M . I dont do any yoga or stretching btw just a foam roller. Advice would be appreciated.

I don’t think anyone believes my problem is truly as bad as it is because it apparently doesn’t look that bad so I’m worried I’m not going to be able to get the appropriate help for it. For the last 10 years (I’m 20 years old) I’ve had back pain and bad discomfort pretty much every single day from sitting up and standing, so I spend many hours lying down on my bed every day to avoid it. I’ve also always been unusually physically weak and easily tired, which I wonder might be caused by the kyphosis, since although I was quite underweight and inactive as a child I’ve known many people who were just as/even more unhealthy and all of them were still significantly stronger than me, and even now after I’ve reached a healthy weight still seem abnormally weak. I also have a bad chronic cough from reflux, which I also suspect is related to the kyphosis. The issue is that no one seems to agree with me that my health issues could really be this bad, because I don’t have a severe curve, so my GP didn’t really take it seriously at all and basically everyone thinks I’m a hysterical, mentally ill hypochondriac. But it is bad and I don’t want to live like this the rest of my life! Can you really have all these symptoms from only a mild curve, or maybe my curve could be more severe than it looks standing up because I overcompensate with my lumbar spine? It does worry me that my curve looks much worse when I lean over, and I can’t get anywhere near touching my toes. Does anyone have experience/knowledge on this kind of thing? Does exercise help with these symptoms (never stuck with exercise when I was younger because it made my back hurt even worse, but now I’m trying some exercises that shouldn’t hurt my back)?

Hello all, I’ve had Scheuermann’s kyphosis for years due to a deformity caused by steroids I had to take at an early age. I also am hypermobile, meaning that my connective tissue and joints can bend farther than normal. I was told to do PT to help my kyphosis, but the therapist was stumped because all the stretches that were supposed to help me were useless (as I’m already too bendy. No stretching occurred). I’m starting to do peloton chest openers and healthy back yoga, but I was wondering if anyone knew additional exercises to strengthen the core and stretch the upper back/shoulders/neck area. I included an xray for reference of where I’m at as well. Thanks!! (Note I am looking for exercise, not a diagnosis, and all information shared has been shared freely.)

Hi, I've had a surgery in 2018, and I've got extreme discomfort and sharp pain in my upper back these past few days. It's about where the rods stop. Anyone experienced the same?