08/04/2026
Hunchback: Spine’s Natural Curve Becomes Abnormal–Here’s How to Reverse It
Helpful exercises include:
Wall Angels: Stand with your back against a wall and position your arms at a 90-degree angle. Slowly move your arms up and down while keeping them in contact with the wall to improve posture and shoulder mobility.
Resistance Band Rows: Pull a resistance band toward your body while squeezing your shoulder blades together. This exercise strengthens the upper back muscles.
Cobra Stretch: Lie face down and gently lift your chest off the floor while keeping your pelvis and lower body grounded. This exercise helps stretch the chest muscles, improve spinal extension, and strengthen the back muscles.
Foam Roller Self-Mobilization: Lie face up on a foam roller. This has been shown to help reduce kyphosis in some studies of women with the condition.
A 2024 systematic review of nine studies involving almost 650 participants found that Pilates can help improve spinal alignment, posture, and spinal deformities, while also reducing pain and enhancing physical function.
A 2009 study involving 118 older participants found that compared with a control group, participants who practiced yoga showed a 4.4 percent improvement in flexicurve kyphosis angle, indicating a measurable reduction in spinal curvature.
4. Sleep Postures
The right sleep positions may help support spinal comfort and alignment, as well as sleep quality.
Back Sleeping: Sleep on your back with a small towel or thin pillow supporting your upper back and another pillow under your knees to help maintain a neutral spine.
Side Sleeping: Sleep on your side with a pillow that keeps your neck aligned, a pillow between your knees, and a small pillow to support your upper arm and shoulder.
Positions to Avoid: Avoid sleeping on your stomach or curling into a tight fetal position, as both can place additional strain on the neck, shoulders, and upper spine.
What Are the Treatments for Kyphosis?
Treatment for kyphosis aims to prevent progression of the spinal curvature, relieve pain, improve posture and lung function (when affected), and prevent nerve damage.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy may be recommended for mild or postural kyphosis to help maintain strength, flexibility, and good posture. It may involve exercises designed to improve posture, strengthen the back muscles to relieve pressure on the spine, stretch the chest muscles (pectorals), stretch tight hamstrings, and strengthen muscle groups affected by spinal misalignment.
Manual Therapy
Manual therapy is a hands-on treatment from physical therapists, chiropractors, or massage therapists—including joint mobilization and muscle stretching.
A 2022 meta-analysis of five studies involving nearly 230 participants with thoracic kyphosis found that manual therapy improved the condition in the short to medium term compared with no treatment or sham therapy. A separate 2020 study of nearly 40 participants found that massage and manual therapy improved the kyphosis angle, thoracic mobility, and back-extensor strength.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care for kyphosis may involve a few different techniques: targeted spinal adjustments, a gentler nonthrust method called flexion-distraction, often used for degenerative disc-related kyphosis, or instrument-assisted adjustments.
A 2018 systematic review of seven studies found that a specific chiropractic method reduced the thoracic curve by an average of about 12 degrees, along with less pain and sometimes improved breathing.
Braces
In growing children and adolescents with Scheuermann’s kyphosis, bracing may be recommended to help slow or prevent further progression of the spinal curvature.
The brace is adjusted regularly as the curve improves and is typically worn until the child reaches skeletal maturity. For skeletally mature patients, bracing will not correct the existing spinal curvature but may be used to provide support and help relieve pain.
A hunched back, medically known as kyphosis, often becomes more pronounced after age 40 and affects up to 40 percent of adults over 60.