Posted by I wrote my project on kyphosis and the surgical procedure to correct it: kyphoplasty. This is a subject that is very dear to me as my dad often did this procedure to help people. In short, kyphosis is when a vertebrae collapses (thus causing the patient to have a “hunchback”) and kyphoplasty is when the surgeon inserts a “balloon” into the vertebrae to act as the part of the vertebrae that collapsed, reversing the damage and straightening the spine.
Please note: the site wouldn’t let me insert my video due to security reasons (either that or I’m just stupid technology-wise) so here are a couple links so access my video:
The UAF media website: http://media.uaf.edu/media/t/1_om0mzcrk
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3U2ukRumGc&feature=youtu.be
Please let me know if you cannot access or cannot see them (I recommend using the YouTube link).
While looking up what kyphosis is (I have never heard of this condition till now) I found that long term or serious cases can affect the lungs, nerves, and other organs because the compression of the rib cage makes it hard to breathe. It reminds me of scoliosis simply because the spine curves but instead of a c or an S it is forward creating a hump (like the hunch back of Notre Dame). It can be caused by a few different things like bad posture as a child causing the vertebrae to condense on one side, or osteoporosis causing degeneration. Sleep position can help correct or lessen the effect of kyphosis because to high of a pillow lifts your head to the point where it can make the kyphosis worse, you want your spine to be relatively strait so you can relieve the pressure and improve posture. I enjoyed learning about this condition and the animation from your flip book really helped me understand the procedure to fix it.