Kyphosis

• Abnormal outward curvature of the spine of the thoracic vertebrae (upper back)
• Also known as hunchback

Treatment

• physical therapy and wearing a back brace, and in some cases by surgery. Surgery may include inserting a metal rod in the spine and restructuring some bones, and is usually followed by wearing a back cast and then a back brace for some time.

Cervical kyphosis

• postmenopausal
• An outward curvature (kyphosis) of the cervical vertebrae (the bones of the neck), creating a hump at the back of the neck.
• This condition, once thought to be a characteristic deformity of older women, was called a dowager's hump. A dowager was a woman of high social rank whose husband was dead but who had a title (such as duchess) and property because of her marriage to him.
• Postmenopausal cervical kyphosis is due to osteoporotic changes in the cervical spine. It may affect men or women.
• Like most osteoporotic changes, the condition is often preventable