What Are the Causes of Kyphosis?

Kyphosis is a development of a hump in the upper back. It has a variety of causes and can be quite painful.

Posture

• Slouching gives you a hunched appearance. This is common in teenagers. Continued slouching causes the muscle through the chest and front of the shoulders to tighten, and the muscles in the upper back to stretch. In this case, the problem is reversible by simply correcting your posture. The longer the problem is left to develop, the more difficult it is to correct.

Degeneration

• The bones weaken with age. Fractures in the vertebrae of the upper back cause a hump to appear. This is commonly seen in people who suffer from osteoporosis.

Scheuermann's disease

• Scheuermann's disease, a spinal deformity seen mostly in teenagers, cannot be fixed simply with corrected posture. The disease causes rigidity along the spinal column in the thoracic area. It is a painful condition.

Congenital defect

• When a fetus's spine doesn't develop correctly in the womb, the child can be born with kyphosis. Surgery must be performed to correct the problem.

Nutrition

• Lack of vitamin D causes the bones to be soft. This can cause a loss of integrity in the vetebrae, giving someone a hunched appearance.