The child has a deformity of the chest: causes of pathology and methods of treatment

The health of the child is the most important for the parents. They are worried about that their child did not hurt, it was full of vitality and energy. But there are situations when the child falls ill, and this affects the whole family. In such cases, you need to turn in time to professionals who will be able to provide qualified advice. Serious diseases, which require professional help, include deformity of the chest in the child. Parents should take this ailment very seriously and immediately go to a polyclinic.

What is the deformation of the chest?

The human's chest is a kind of shield that supports and protects vital organs. It also represents the musculoskeletal framework, to which the ribs are attached. If there is a situation where the child has a deformity of the chest, then this entails serious consequences. Deformation occurs both congenital and acquired. It negatively affects the work of all internal organs. It is worth recalling that the chest is designed to protect the heart, lungs, liver, spleen. And if there is a violation in one body, then the whole life support system suffers.

Congenital deformity of the chest is also called dysplastic. It is important to know that such forms are found much more often than acquired ones. There are disorders of bone structures, their formation in the womb of the mother, anomalies of the spinal column develop. Most often, changes are noted in the front of the baby's chest. Acquired deformities arise from a variety of diseases that can affect a person at any age.

Types of the disease

All breaches of the chest, which are known to specialists, can be combined into two large groups. These are such deformations as congenital and acquired. But within each group there is a different classification. Also, depending on the location, the child has several forms of deformity of the chest. It is believed that it can be front, side and back. In terms of the severity of the disorder, the ailment is often implicit, even almost invisible, before serious pathologies affect the functioning of the heart and lungs.

Congenital deformities are divided into the following types:

• Funnel-shaped, in common people this type of violation is called "the boot of a shoemaker".
• Kiel, or "chicken breast."
• Flat.
• Cleft.

Acquired violations are divided into:

• Emphysematous.
• Paralytic.
• Kifoskolioticheskie.
• Scaphoid.

It should be noted that with congenital deformations of the thorax most often disturbances occur on its anterior wall. If this is an acquired deformation, then both the lateral and the back surfaces may be violated. It is also necessary to know that if there is a congenital deformity of the chest in a child, treatment of it is most often operational.

Causes of the disease

When a child becomes ill, parents try to find out the causes of the ailment. In such cases it is better to prevent the disease than to treat it for a long time. To find out why a child has a deformity of the chest, one must understand the etiology of the disease.

As already known, the deformation is congenital and acquired. Causes of congenital deformity:

• Genetic predisposition (heredity).
• Underdevelopment of bone tissue in the womb.

This is one of the most common causes of congenital deformity. You should also know that the maldevelopment of the baby's bone tissue can be due to the fact that the mother suffered an infectious disease in the first trimester of pregnancy. Congenital deformity of the chest can be influenced by the lifestyle of the future mother, insufficient intake of nutrients by the embryo, and the presence of bad habits in the parent. The latter include alcohol, tobacco and drug use, and an untimely appeal for help to specialists is an important factor.

Causes of acquired violations

Why does the acquired deformity of the chest in a child appear? The reasons that provoke it are listed below:

• Diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
• Tumors.
• Chondrosis.
• Inflammatory and purulent diseases of soft tissues.
• Various injuries.
• Unsuccessful surgical operations.
• Excessive physical activity.
• Metabolic disease.
• Achondroplasia.
• Anomalies of bone tissue.
• Down Syndrome.
• Asthma.
• Bechterew's disease.
• Inflammatory diseases.
• Syndrome Wife.

All these diseases lead to serious consequences, and eventually deform the chest.

The funnel-shaped deformation

Funnel-shaped deformation is called a hollow chest. This is one of the most common diseases that occurs at birth. In newborns, doctors fix about one case for four hundred children. This disorder is several times more common in boys than in girls. The reason for this is that the cartilages that connect the ribs are underdeveloped. Externally, the disorder is represented as a depression in the upper and lower parts of the sternum. The thorax is slightly enlarged in the transverse direction and, accordingly, the lateral walls have a curvature.

With the growth of the child, impairments are aggravated, the ribs begin to grow and tighten the sternum inward. All this leads to the fact that the heart and large arteries continue to shift and contract. If the child is a newborn, such a deformation is almost imperceptible. It is visible only with prolonged observation, when inhaling occurs. With a visual examination, changes in the chest will be visible only to three years of life. From this moment the child becomes painful, it is affected by frequent colds, there are problems with pressure. The depth of the funnel can reach ten centimeters.

The onset of the disease

If the child has a deformity of the chest, and it manifested itself at an early age, doctors distinguish several theories of its formation. One of them says that the ribs and cartilage develop faster than the sternum, and because of this they are displacing it. Other authors are of the opinion that the disorders occurred from intrauterine pressure, which displaced the posterior wall of the ribs. This theory also includes anomalies of the diaphragm with attachment of rickets. Another theory is that the funnel-shaped deformation arose from the pathology of connective tissue.

Also, deformation can manifest itself in several defects, both not too obvious, and clearly pronounced. Everything depends on the factors affecting it:

• The sternum has a degree of posterior angulation.
• The costal cartilage, having a degree of posterior angulation at the place of attachment to the ribs.

Do not forget that the disease can be aggravated also by various anomalies of the diaphragm, which complicates treatment. Also, doctors have several methods that help determine the severity of the disease. This is a quantitative calculation of the distance from the sternum to the ribs.

Kyle deformity in the child

According to the degree of prevalence of deformations, the keel-shaped one is on the second place. It arises with a large and rapid growth of the costal cartilage. The shape of the sternum becomes like a bird's chest, as it protrudes forward. Many parents have questions about what is the deformity of the chest in a child? Causes and treatment (photos of patients presented in this article) will be discussed in detail.

The keel deformity in the child becomes more noticeable with age and develops as a pronounced pathology. But it is worth noting that with such violations of the musculoskeletal system, the internal organs do not suffer. Symptoms such as dyspnea and heart palpitations may occur. As for the spine, it does not undergo changes. Most often the disease affects boys. Sometimes violations have an asymmetric character, with indentations on one side and bulging on the other.

Causes of ailment

The etiology of such a violation is not entirely clear, as in the case of funnel-shaped deformation. It is believed that the cause is excessive overgrowth of osteochondral cartilage. In turn, everything depends on heredity and genetics. If relatives had such a disease, then it is possible that it was transmitted to the child. It is important to remember that if a child has a deformity of the chest, how to correct this problem will be prompted only by experienced specialists.

Still there is an opinion that the deformation is due to scoliosis and congenital heart disease, as well as connective tissue anomalies. Most often, physicians divide this disease into three types:

• The sternum and ribs have symmetry, and the xiphoid process is shifted downward.
• The sternum is displaced downward and forward, a protrusion is observed. The ribs are bent in this case.
• The costal cartilage curves forward, but no breasts are observed.

Symptoms of the disease appear already in adolescence, but they are slightly pronounced. Sometimes the symptoms are clearly manifested in severe physical exertion. The disease also contributes to the development of asthma.

The child has a deformity of the chest: how to treat?

Methods of treatment are diverse - it all depends on the degree and type of deformation, as well as whether there are violations in the cardiovascular and respiratory system. If the violations are insignificant, then you can choose conservative treatment. Parents who are worried about the health of their children often ask questions to the specialist: "If the child has a deformity of the chest, what should I do?" In such cases, it is important to listen to the opinion of doctors and not to make hasty decisions. After all, the child's body is only developing, and with improper treatment, the clinical picture will worsen. In certain cases, doctors recommend surgical intervention. Here a special role is played by the diagnosis of the disease.

Diagnostics

To date, there is a large stock of research methods for violations of the musculoskeletal system. One of the most common is radiography. It gives a complete picture of the disturbances and, if properly described, can contribute to the effectiveness of the treatment. With the help of radiography it is possible to obtain data on the degree and shape of the thorax deformation.

Another instrumental method is CT breastbone. It allows you to determine the extent of violations that affect the heart and lungs, as well as the degree of displacement of internal organs. Along with CT, another hardware method is used - MRI. He gives complete and detailed information about the bone, connective tissues of their condition and the degree of development of the disease. There are also additional methods that can describe the clinical picture. These include ECG, echocardiography and spirography. They make it possible to determine the condition of internal organs.

Deformation of the chest in children: treatment at home

If the disease does not require surgical intervention, then the conservative methods of treatment are perfect. So, parents at home can help their child on their own. This treatment includes the following actions:

• Physiotherapy - moderate exercise and development of bone tissue will help when there is a slight deformation of the chest in the child;
• Massage with a specialist;
• Physiotherapy exercises prescribed by the doctor;
• Swimming is an excellent tool for the development of the musculoskeletal system and raising the mood.

If you follow and follow all the recommendations of doctors, then at home, parents will be able to develop their child, give him a chance to be healthy and stop the disease.