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Question: Hi there! My name is Jon, and I am an 18 year old male. I was looking on yahoo.com to find info about how to get rid of a "hunched-back". I have had the problem my whole life. Basically, when I stand straight up and relax, my shoulders go forward much more than they should. I have tried stretches (standing inside a door frame and pushing forward while I hold on with my hands; or just sleeping in a position that pulls back my shoulders) etc. to try and make this go away, but have had no luck. Do you have any recommendations for stretches or anything that I could do to straighten out my back? Should I see my doctor about it first? (April 5, 2001).
Answer: Jon, The problem you appear to have is called "kyphosis," which means a hunching of the upper spine. It is quite common in older people, particularly amongst women who after the menopause can develop osteoporosis (loss of bone density). This is most unlikely to be the problem in your case. You don't mention pain, so I presume there is none. In the last few months I have come across several men, they'd be in their forties, who have pronounced kyphosis. They were suffering from lower back pain, but none had ever experienced upper back pain. I made a point in asking them this as the kyphosis was so severe.
Read my website www.back-shop.com and see what I have to say about neck and upper back pain. Try to incorporate this into your daily lifestyle. When sitting always make sure the weight of your head is being taken by the back of the chair. Experiment by tilting your home chair backwards by placing a book, one to one and a half inches thick, under each front leg. This will have the effect of throwing your centre of gravity backwards and instead of your head flopping forwards it will tend to fall backwards until it rests on the neck support. The same effect can be obtained by sawing an inch or an inch and a half off the back legs. However this would be more drastic as it would be irreversible.
There is a product on the market, which should be available in any back or medical store for about $20, which could be helpful. It's a light harness that goes around your shoulders and is a help to attaining better upper back posture.
If you are that worried I would recommend seeing a doctor. My philosophy when dealing with any problem is to always ask the advice of as many people as possible. I may not take their advice, but I will have benefited from another opinion. Hope this has been of help. Colm Campbell.