Is your back resembles a question mark?

It can be because of a condition is commonly known as hunch back. Hunch back usually caused by poor posture. Kyphosis causing because of poor (or bad) posture is called as postural kyphosis.

The medical term for this condition is Kyphosis.

Human beings are not designed to sit in an office all day. We are built to move. Modern activities, such as using a smartphone, tablet or laptop, cause us to bend our neck and upper back.

The effects of bad posture are many and can be really serious.

Your upper back is the major group of that aid in good posture. Slouching all day forces your chest muscles to tighten and weakens your upper back muscles, which pulls your spine forward and rotates your shoulders inward, which in turn leads to excess pressure on the spine, causing shoulder, arm and back pains, jaw pain and headaches.

It can also put compression force on your rib cage & may cause breathing difficulties by putting pressure on the lungs, which can damage your heart and lungs and can lead to gastrointestinal issues.

Some other causes are diseases like arthritis of the spine, osteoporosis of vertebra, slipped discs, and scoliosis, Aging, obesity & some psychological conditions like depression, etc.

How to identify hunch back?

From the side, your upper back may be noticeably rounded with protruding chin. In addition, people have noticeable rounding of the shoulders & protrusion of chin.

Checking Your Posture With this simple Wall Test

To do this easy test, stand with your feet flat on the ground. Put your back flat against the wall. Then place your head against the wall as well, and tuck in your chin.

Raise your arms out to shoulder height and bend your elbows. The tips of your fingers will be pointing forward, and your elbows will be straight out from your shoulders.

Now rotate your arms upward at the elbows, keeping them bent, and try to touch the back of your wrists to the wall.

If your back arches or you can’t get your wrists to touch the wall, that indicates poor posture.

Much of our body movement depends on the health of the spine.

Poor posture will not need aggressive treatments to be given. The following treatments may help relieve the symptoms of kyphosis:

  • Medication, to relieve pain, if necessary
  • Physical therapy - stretching, manual therapy, physical activity and postural changes to help build strength in the core and back muscles.
  • Yoga, to increase body awareness and build strength, flexibility, and range of motion.
  • Weight loss, to relieve the excess burden on the spine.

Be aware,

If you don’t change your activity the stiffness can build making it harder to straighten your spine. Then surgery may require.

Myth: There is nothing I can do to reverse the effects of bad posture.

Reality: This is absolutely false. Strength training of upper-lower back, thighs, legs muscles and stretches of the chest, abs, neck, shoulders, and back muscles can correct posture.

A good Physiotherapist will teach you the exercises you need to develop this core strength and advice you that moving or doing exercises frequently throughout the working day has been shown to reduce muscle discomfort and eye strain. So it’s recommended you get up and walk around, or do exercises at your desk around after every 30 minutes.

To ensure long-term changes, it is critical that you become more conscious of posture when standing and sitting.

Caution for gym lovers

If you are doing a lot of bench press, curls, and crunches, in combination with slouching in a chair all day long, kyphosis can worsen. Be sure to stretch your chest muscles and incorporate leg and back exercises into your fitness routine.

"If you're not ergonomically correct, you will wind up with back and neck pain," says most orthopaedics and physiotherapy.