One of the most common spinal misalignments or subluxations that I see in my office is a misalignment called Hyperkyphosis. Hyper meaning over excessive and kyphosis meaning outward curvature of the spine and put together you have an excessive curvature of the thoracic spine. In other words, it means hunching of the mid-back. The mid-back runs from your shoulders down to your lower ribs.
Hyperkyphosis may be aesthetically unpleasing to have, but what many don’t realize are the dangerous health implications of this type of misalignment. According to the study in 2004 by Dr. Kado in the Journal of American Geriatric Society hyperkyphosis increases mortality rates by 2.4 times! (1) Why? The researchers aren’t fully clear on this yet, but there’s preliminary research showing that hyperkyphosis causes excessive stress on the lungs and heart which leads to earlier onset of death. Hyperkyphosis has also been shown to cause vertebral fractures which again in my opinion would affect the overall function of the spine and lead towards poorer health. The good news? If caught early enough chiropractic adjustments and specific exercises can be done to either reverse or stop this type of misalignment from worsening. This will be shared in next week’s blog. Stay tuned!
Resources:
Hyperkyphosis may be aesthetically unpleasing to have, but what many don’t realize are the dangerous health implications of this type of misalignment. According to the study in 2004 by Dr. Kado in the Journal of American Geriatric Society hyperkyphosis increases mortality rates by 2.4 times! (1) Why? The researchers aren’t fully clear on this yet, but there’s preliminary research showing that hyperkyphosis causes excessive stress on the lungs and heart which leads to earlier onset of death. Hyperkyphosis has also been shown to cause vertebral fractures which again in my opinion would affect the overall function of the spine and lead towards poorer health. The good news? If caught early enough chiropractic adjustments and specific exercises can be done to either reverse or stop this type of misalignment from worsening. This will be shared in next week’s blog. Stay tuned!
Resources:
- Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (Impact Factor: 4.57). 10/2004; 52(10):1662-7
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