If you have been told you have flatback deformity, you have probably been given some version of the same answer when you asked whether you need surgery: it depends. That is true, but it is not useful. What it depends on is specific, measurable, and worth understanding — because knowing it will help you haveContinue reading “How Do I Know If My Flatback Is Severe Enough to Need Surgery?”
Category Archives: Kyphosis & Flatback
Cervical Kyphosis: A Different Kind of Neck Problem
Most patients familiar with cervical spine problems think of disc herniation, nerve compression, or stenosis. Cervical kyphosis is less widely known but represents a distinct and clinically important problem: the neck loses its normal inward curve and develops a forward bend instead, placing the spinal cord under progressive stretch across the kyphotic apex and creatingContinue reading “Cervical Kyphosis: A Different Kind of Neck Problem”
Hyperkyphosis in Older Adults: When a Rounded Back Is a Medical Problem
A rounded upper back is often dismissed as a normal part of aging. For many older adults, it is — a mild increase in thoracic kyphosis within the range of normal variation, requiring no treatment. But for a significant subset, the progressive forward curve of the upper back represents a genuinely abnormal and treatable condition:Continue reading “Hyperkyphosis in Older Adults: When a Rounded Back Is a Medical Problem”
Postoperative Kyphosis: When Prior Spine Surgery Causes a New Forward Curve
Kyphosis that develops as a complication of prior spine surgery is one of the most underrecognized patterns in spinal deformity. Patients who had successful-seeming procedures — cervical laminectomy, lumbar fusion, scoliosis correction — find themselves years later with a new forward curve, progressive symptoms, and often no clear explanation from their treating physicians about whyContinue reading “Postoperative Kyphosis: When Prior Spine Surgery Causes a New Forward Curve”