WEATHER
The normal spine, when viewed from the side, is not a straight line as it is when viewed from the front or back.The thoracic (rib cage) portion of the spine has a normal forward curvature, called "kyphosis," which has a normal range (20 to 50 degrees).This forward curvature is matched by reverse curvatures (called "lordosis" or "sway") in the cervical spine (the neck) and the lumbar spine (the low back). This combination of forward and reverse curves in the spine allows people to sit and stand upright. Technically, any exaggerated rounding of the forward curvature in the upper back is called hyperkyphosis (meaning too much kyphosis), but the term "kyphosis" is commonly used to refer to the clinical condition of excess curvature of the upper back (greater than 50 degrees), leading to a stooped forward posture.1 This is how the term is used in the remainder of this article. This condition stems from the Greek term "kyphos," meaning a hump, and is referred to in various lay terms, such as a dowager's hump, hunchback, roundback, or humpback.