One area of the body that Carpenter Syndrome can cause deformities in is the spine as some people will have a condition called kyphoscoliosis. This has been true for me as I was diagnosed in my early teen years with kyphoscoliosis.
When I was young, my mom would notice that I had a hard time standing and sitting up straight as I would tend to slouch. She thought it was just because I had bad posture and would give me reminders to sit up straight. At one of my follow up appointments with my orthopedic doctor, he noticed that I had more of a rounded upper back as well as noticing some other physical signs associated with kyphosis. After doing a physical exam and seeing my x-ray results I was diagnosed with kyphoscoliosis. When I was diagnosed, my curves in my lower and upper back were significant and I was put in a brace for my lower and upper back. I also saw a chiropractor on a regular basis during my teen years and would have appointments with my doctor to monitor my curves.
When my body was close to being done growing, my family and I were told by my care team at the time that my curves had not changed that much and would most likely not progress in my adult years. I would get mild pain in my back sometimes as well as some fatigue but I did not really think that much of it. I think part of the reason was because I had just become used to having some pain in my back. Around the time of my upper 20s, I started having some issues with my hip and pain in my thigh area. When I was getting an x-ray done of my hip, the orthopedic doctor that I was seeing noticed the larger curve in my lower back. The doctor told me that my hip pain might be coming more from my back and recommended seeing a back doctor.
Shortly after this my primary care doctor had me get a more detailed x-ray of my back to see the degrees of my curves. My x-ray results came back showing a 30 degree curve in my lower back and a 70 degree curve in my upper back. I will talk more about this in my next blog. Sincerely Laura.
