Dealing with a hunched back

[mlentzner]

I have lifter who is kind of jacked up. He's had a double hip replacement so kudos to him for lifting and not feeling sorry for himself.

The other issue I notice is that his upper back is always rounded. I cue him to lift his chest, etc. and he does it, but it doesn't move much. It's still curved.

I'm at a loss how to deal with this. I suspect that it is not something that will ever improve. He's been lifting with me for a couple years now. I was hoping that with constant cuing it would improve the way that shoulder and wrist flexibility does from just squatting and cleaning. I want him to go as heavy as possible, but I also don't want him to get hurt.

Rip, I know you're not big on corrective exercises, but just doing the program has not helped much if at all. Open to any suggestions.

[Mark Rippetoe]

He has an anatomical kyphosis. This is the way his back is shaped. Coach him accordingly, and quit trying to fix what cannot be fixed.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

Dealing mostly with people 50-75 years of age, I have and have had multiple clients with varying degrees of "kyphosis."

You are right, you can't cue them into the right position because their spine doesn't go that way. When you are first dealing with it, it kinda looks scary, because it doesn't square with the ideal model of what a lifter should look like in the proper pulling position. I've never had an injury problem with these clients. Just watch their lumbar spine. Chances are, you aren't going to get a whole hell of a lot of extension there either, but just try to get him to hold it neutral. More importantly what I always look for is "still." Is the spine (in whatever position it is in) rigid during the pull or is it moving around under load.

I have a guy coming in Thursday night that is 70 and has a decently pronounced kyphotic curve in his spine. I'll try to take a vid and post it while he deadlifts. Don't hold your breath though...I'll probably forget.

[Dastardly]

If he was below a certain age would it be worth attempting to fix?

[Mark Rippetoe]

If he has bony morphology abnormality in his spine, age would have nothing to do with it.

[heints25]

I don't know. I have slight kyphosis, and it is much better now than before I trained. Maybe I just learned to quit being fucking lazy and to sit/stand up straight.....

[Dastardly]

How do you tell the difference between someone with a bony morphology and someone a hunched back caused by terrible posture and perhaps terrible training habits over a long time? Or are they connected?

If you dont mind me asking, do you mind if I ask about you as an example? I notice you have some kyphosis which is pretty pronounced when deadlifting. Has this always been there or is it a product of posture and activity habits over many years?

[mlentzner]

If he has bony morphology abnormality in his spine, age would have nothing to do with it.

I assumed it wasn't congenital. Now that I notice these things I see middle-aged plus people all the time with pretty pronounced curvature. I figured it was a lifetime of shitty posture with slack upper back muscles while stooped in front of a computer screen.

He's pulled 315 with a completely rounded back (It was a single - I didn't let him do it again). He struggles to pull 225 without letting his back round so there is definitely upper back weakness going on.

He's been injury free so I guess what I've been doing with him is okay. Like Andy said, it looks scary.

[Mark Rippetoe]

How do you tell the difference between someone with a bony morphology and someone a hunched back caused by terrible posture and perhaps terrible training habits over a long time? Or are they connected?

Such a person cannot produce a normal unloaded thoracic extension. His kyphotic curve is always in slight anatomical flexion.

If you dont mind me asking, do you mind if I ask about you as an example? I notice you have some kyphosis which is pretty pronounced when deadlifting. Has this always been there or is it a product of posture and activity habits over many years?

Age, I suppose.

[Winona77]

Kyphosis is pretty common in all age groups and it's rarely caused by poor posture. I'm 23 and have kyphosis of the upper back, at an angle of about 68 degrees-- with 40 or so being normal curvature. I wore a back brace in middle school and was told by the doctor to focus on swimming and not lift more than 35lbs. I used his advice as an excuse to stay away from barbells/squats, but never had a problem loading up the leg press with hundreds of pounds or moving bales of hay around the farm.

Kyphosis is much like scoliosis in that the back becomes S shaped, except the S is the shape from the side view (hence the hunchback). Because of this, the bottom of the spine is the opposite of the top and is usually curved in. Notice the next time you work with the guy that his upper back may be curved, but his lower back is most likely perfectly held at flexion-- with a hyper extension being the greater concern.

Because the bone is mended together during puberty, it can't really be fixed short of surgery (where they insert rods along your spinal column-- not good for squatting). Stretching does help open up the vertebrae, and can help with lower back pain.

I am on wrapping up week 3 of SS and it really only affects my ability to hold the bar in the low-bar position of the squat. The extra rounding of my back makes grabbing the bar with a good grip a task only someone double jointed in the shoulders could accomplish, but I am getting closer to getting it down.

But as for "dealing with a hunched back", pitchforks and torches are the most effective method at getting them out of the bell tower