Kyphosis in a Teen: What a Viral Chiropractic Video Can and Can’t Show

A Teen With Kyphosis and a Chiropractic Clinic’s Video

In 2015 a short clinic video went viral showing a 17-year-old, Muntathar Altaii, bent forward by a painful back curve and then, ten days later, standing far straighter after chiropractic care in Australia. If you found this page because you or someone you love has a rounded upper back and severe pain, here is the honest short answer: kyphosis has several different causes, some of them serious, and the first step is a proper medical diagnosis with imaging. A single before-and-after video cannot tell you which treatment works, or whether it would work for you.

What follows is the story as it was reported, what kyphosis actually is, what the evidence says about treatment options, and the warning signs that mean you should not wait.

The story behind the viral video

According to the accounts shared at the time, the young man hurt his back while digging out an old tree stump. Over the following months his upper spine curved forward markedly, the pain became constant, and he reportedly lost feeling in his left leg, to the point where he had to lift the leg by hand to walk. Some days he could not get out of bed.

His family is said to have looked for help for months, and practitioners in his home country reportedly declined to treat him because they feared making things worse. He was eventually seen at a clinic practising the Gonstead method of chiropractic in Australia, which filmed his progress over about ten days and published the result. Those details come from the clinic’s video and from the viral pages that shared it; we could not confirm them independently, and the original upload is no longer available.

(The video originally embedded here is no longer available on YouTube.)

What kyphosis is

Everyone’s upper back has a gentle forward curve. In a typical thoracic spine that curve measures roughly 20 to 45 degrees; beyond about 45 degrees doctors speak of hyperkyphosis, and the shape becomes noticeable as a rounded upper back. Kyphosis is different from scoliosis, which is a sideways curve, although the two can occur together.

The angle is measured on a side-view X-ray using the Cobb method, and imaging also shows whether the vertebrae themselves are normal or wedge-shaped. That distinction matters a great deal, because it separates a flexible postural curve from a structural one.

The main types

Postural kyphosis is the most common. It comes from slouching and muscle imbalance, the vertebrae look normal, and in young people it can be corrected.
Scheuermann’s kyphosis usually appears in the teenage years, more often in boys. The vertebrae become wedge-shaped over at least three levels, the curve is rigid, and the person cannot straighten it voluntarily. It often runs in families and can cause pain and fatigue.
Congenital kyphosis results from vertebrae that formed incorrectly before birth and may worsen during growth.
Post-traumatic and degenerative kyphosis can follow a vertebral fracture, disc degeneration or, in older adults, osteoporosis with compression fractures.

A teenager whose curve appears after a lifting injury could fall into more than one of these groups, which is exactly why the label “kyphosis” alone says little about the right treatment.

Why lost feeling in a leg is a red flag

Back pain is common and usually settles. Numbness or weakness in a leg is different: it suggests that a nerve root, or the spinal cord, is being compressed or irritated. Combined with a visible change in the shape of the spine after an injury, it calls for urgent medical assessment, ideally including an MRI or X-ray, before anyone manipulates the spine.

Seek emergency care straight away if back pain comes with numbness around the genitals or buttocks, new problems controlling the bladder or bowel, weakness in both legs, fever, or follows a significant fall or accident. These can signal conditions such as cauda equina syndrome, infection or a fracture, which need hospital treatment.

What chiropractic can and cannot do

Chiropractors use hands-on techniques, including spinal manipulation, massage and stretching. In the UK the NHS points out that complementary therapies are not tested in the same way as standard medicines, and that chiropractors must by law be registered with the General Chiropractic Council. It also warns that manipulation may not be safe for people taking blood thinners or at higher risk of bleeding or stroke, people with very weak or badly damaged bones or joints, and people with a nerve condition.

For ordinary low back pain, manual therapy can be one part of a treatment plan, usually alongside exercise. There is no good evidence that manipulation can reshape wedge-shaped vertebrae or correct a structural curve. Where the curve is postural, or is partly caused by muscle spasm and pain, people sometimes stand much straighter once the pain eases, and that may be part of what the video captured.

A single filmed case also has built-in limits. We don’t see the diagnosis or the imaging, any other treatment he received, whether the improvement lasted, or the patients who did not improve. Pain from an acute injury can also ease over weeks regardless of treatment. None of this means the young man did not genuinely feel better; it means the video cannot show why.

Treatments with better evidence

Management depends on the type of kyphosis, the size of the curve, symptoms and whether the person is still growing.

Posture work and exercise. Strengthening the back extensors, stretching tight chest muscles and posture training help postural kyphosis and can ease muscle pain in other types.
Bracing. In teenagers who are still growing, a brace can limit progression and sometimes produce lasting improvement, as shown in a randomised trial.
Specialised physiotherapy. Programmes such as the Schroth method are used for Scheuermann’s disease in parts of Europe.
Surgery. Reserved for severe, progressive or neurologically threatening curves. Spinal fusion can correct the deformity, but it carries real risks, with serious complications estimated at around 5 per cent.

Osteoporosis-related kyphosis in older adults is treated quite differently, with bone-strengthening medication and fracture prevention.

Practical takeaways

Get a diagnosis first: a GP or doctor can arrange imaging and refer you to a spine specialist or physiotherapist.
If you choose to see a chiropractor, check their registration, share your scans and medical history, and ask what they expect to achieve and how progress will be measured.
Be wary of any practitioner who promises to “straighten” a rigid structural curve in days.
When lifting heavy loads such as a tree stump, bend the hips and knees, keep the load close and avoid twisting; better still, use leverage tools or get help.

Viral recovery videos can be genuinely hopeful, and this young man’s relief looks real. The safest way to get the same outcome is to start with an accurate diagnosis and to talk to a doctor about every option.

Sources: Kyphosis (Wikipedia); NHS: Chiropractic; video originally shared by Damn via Idealist Revolution.

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