Your GP should be able to diagnose kyphosis by making a physical examination of your (or your child’s) spine.
During the examination, your GP may ask you to perform a number of exercises to assess the impact the condition has on your balance and range of movement.
You may also be asked to lie down so that your GP can see if the curve is caused by bad posture or by a structural problem with the spine.
Although it's not always the case, if the spine straightens when you lie down it's likely that kyphosis is due to poor posture (postural kyphosis).
But if the spine stills curves while you're lying down, it's likely that kyphosis is due to a problem with the structure of the spine, as found in the Scheuermann's or congenital types of kyphosis.
An X-ray can usually confirm the diagnosis and determine the cause of the kyphosis.
Further scans would normally only be required if complex treatment, such as surgery, were being planned, or you had additional symptoms that suggested that the nervous system has been affected, such as numbness in the arms or legs.
These scans would probably involve:
Adults
If you develop kyphosis in adulthood then it's likely that you'll need additional tests to determine the underlying cause.
The tests that you'll be referred to will depend on what additional symptoms you have. They may include:
- blood tests, which can be useful for checking for infections such as tuberculosis
- a bone density scan, which is a special type of X-ray used to assess how strong your bones are – this can be useful in diagnosing conditions that cause weakening of the bones, such as osteoporosis or Paget’s disease
- CT and MRI scans
