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Illustrated Health Encyclopedia
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Ency. home > Disease > K > Kyphosis

Kyphosis    See images

Overview | Symptoms | Treatment | Prevention

Alternative names:

Scheuermann disease; Roundback

Definition:

A curving of the spine that causes a bowing of the back, such that the apex of the angle points backwards leading to a hunchback or slouching posture.

Causes and Risks

Kyphosis is a spinal deformity that can result from trauma, developmental problems or degenerative disease. Kyphosis can occur at any age although it is rare at birth.

Adolescent kyphosis, also known as Scheuermann's disease, results from wedging of several consecutive vertebrae. The cause of Scheuermann's disease is unknown.

In adults kyphosis can be seen as a result of osteoportic compression fractures, degenerative disease (like arthritis), or spondylolisthese (slipping of one vertebra forward on another).

Other causes of kyphosis include infection (such as tuberculosis), spina bifida (congenital deformity with incomplete formation of part of the spine), disk degeneration, endocrine diseases, Paget's disease, polio, and tumors.

Kyphosis can also be seen in association with scoliosis (an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine seen in children and adolescents). Risk factors are related to the causes.

Ency. home > Disease > K > Kyphosis

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