The main types of deformations
Among the changes in the shape of the chest, there are two types of deformation:
- Acquired chest deformity, which is the most common. The cause is usually burns, mechanical injuries, chronic purulent lung damage;
- Congenital deformity of the chest, which is caused by the presence of various abnormalities of the development of the scapular bones, spine. Severe deformity may be caused by abnormal development of the skeleton of the breast skeleton.
Localization Views
Depending on the localization, they share:
- deformation of the anterior wall of the chest. Such changes are mostly congenital. They are combined with underdevelopment of the muscles, sternum, absence or underdevelopment of the ribs;
- deformations of the lateral and posterior walls of the breast bone cell as evidence of past diseases. After primary damage to the vertebrae, subsequent deformation of the ribs occurs with their lateral protrusion according to the type of rib hump. In addition, there are functional disorders of the heart and respiratory system.
Subspecies of anterior chest deformity are:
- funnel chest - as a rule, this is a congenital anomaly. Very rarely, its occurrence is also possible after a disease (rickets, pulmonary tuberculosis). Such an anomaly is accompanied by a shortening and thickening of the ligaments of the sternum, a decrease in the tendon center of the muscle that separates the chest cavity from the peritoneum (diaphragm). This pathology occurs along with the proliferation of the anterior wall of the lower costal cartilage. As a result, deformation of the chest develops and there is a reduction in the distance between the sternum and the vertebral column up to full contact. This deformation of the chest in children displaces and compresses the organs of the chest. The process is accompanied by a retraction of the sternum and ribs during the act of breathing. Consequences: bronchitis, tonsillitis, stitching heart pains, increased irritability;
- keeled deformation (popularly called “chicken”) can be caused by excessive proliferation of costal cartilage with a protrusion of the sternum forward and retraction of the ribs. So, the chest in shape turns into a keeled chest. Subsequently, this deformation becomes (as the child grows) a serious cosmetic defect. Side effects can be in the form of fatigue, shortness of breath and palpitations during physical exertion;
- flat deformation as a result of uneven development with a decrease in the front size of the chest as a result of a weak physique. The change is accompanied only by a cosmetic flaw.
The basis of treatment is an individual approach
In the treatment of all such defects, a strict personality is applied, depending on what kind of chest deformity is determined. The treatment of, for example, muscle malformations during chest deformation is reduced to eliminating a cosmetic defect. Defects of the ribs with flat chests also do not require special treatment, not counting massage, therapeutic exercises, tennis and swimming. But the funnel-shaped chest requires only surgical treatment with a partial resection of the deformed ribs and a dissection of the sternophrenic ligament. The keel-shaped chest is also operated on, but only in cases of damage to the internal organs and before the age of five.
According to experts, the most difficult is the treatment of a defect caused by curvature of the spine. Such chest deformity is much more easily prevented than treated. Methods for the prevention of changes in the shape of the chest (active lifestyle, gymnastics, sports) are the most affordable ways to prevent most of the above pathologies.