PE: Stone Age vs Today (Did it Exist?)

What do you think? Did pectus excavatum exist at Stone Age?

This is what I think!

Yes, maybe very mild cases (?) and the reason to why I believe that, is because I have tried to figure out how the ergonomic environment must have changed since then.

Yet another illustration which I have made in paint (windows 8.1) shows the difference in the ergonomic environment and what must be the difference from Stone Age and now. The illustration is color coded. The upper row is Stone Age and the lower one is today.

1.      Even the environment before birth have changed simply because babies are getting a lot bigger today which practically means that they are more heavily bent today compared to Stone Age.

2.      At Stone Age there were no pillows and soft beds which could bend the body into many unnatural positions. The average risk to get into such a negative situation was therefore very much lower than today.

3.      There were no chairs so they probably sat down in a very natural position most of the time especially good for the upper back and the lower ribs.

4.      They did not form their bodies into S-shapes by raising their heels.

To sum it up: There have never been any reason to develop extremely strong connections between the skeletal system and the muscular system until now (the environmental prerequisites have undergone a dramatic change).

"Some old good genes" find themselves to not fit in to this dramatic environmental change.

That is the reason (I believe) to why genes for such heavy deformations like pectus excavatum, could have passed through the evolution. 

Fix PE=Go Back to Stone Age

Sloped Shoulders Related to Kyphosis, PE and a Fix

Sloped shoulders is very common among people with PE and is both a direct consequence of the kyphosis and the sunken sternum. The idea to help the upper back towards a correct position by using a clavicle support is well known today and I have even seen suggestions from doctors on the internet, that this can help mild cases of PE. But that is without the zero drop/barefoot shoes included! The effective combination; zero drop+clavicle support is a must to even be worth trying. So here I will give my hottest tip for a long time which I have tested myself for some time and it really has a good effect.

   1.      Use zero drop shoes and no heavy clothes on the upper body.

   2.      At the same time as point one; use a clavicle support to help correct the spine.

   3.      Be physically active (stand up and walk) around two hours.

But as always: I don’t think that the more one uses it, the better it becomes. The body needs rest in between as with all form of physical training/stress. After all, you are going to physically correct your body quite dramatically so I use it just few hours a day (at least in the initial stage which I am into right now, zero drop I use constantly, the essential base of the whole thing).

What does the clavicle support directly do?

When the shoulders are held back in a natural position the muscles in the upper back will be activated so that they pushes the ribs in the direction of the sunken sternum, this will straighten the spine upwards and help further lift of the sternum.

I recommend to especially take a look on this post: “Nuss Procedure vs Do-it-Yourself-Procedure”. The clavicle support will help doing exactly what is described there.

Very Important Information: Your collarbones shall never go behind your ears. Don't put pressure on your shoulders. The clavicle support is just an advisor for your muscles so they gets activated correctly and reminds you to keep a good posture.    

Recovery Timeline and the Future

The time has come to make a short description of my recovery timeline as a whole. What to focus on in the beginning and so on. I think one can divide the recovery timeline into three parts from a moderate case perspective:

1.      Posture correction for a few months (it will lift the sternum quite rapidly according to my experience). I recommend to read “Short quick Start Guide”.

2.      Continue with the above (point 1) and do some exercises until the lowest part of the sternum is loosening up and a new way to breathe occurs (this may take several months or around a year).

3.      The beginning of the end of the recovery which includes a continuation of natural ergonomics, my latest sleeping strategy and sporadic exercises if necessary.

After all, the ultimate goal is to come to an end with the struggle against pectus excavatum. I have been thinking a lot lately, when I should not care about it anymore. I have started to be willing to accept a mild case. I must admit that my motivation have decreased dramatically mainly because of two reasons:

1.      I am sure about what causes PE and hope that it over time will lead to clinical studies based on my hard work so that people becomes aware about its causes and future development of PE among humanity will come to a minimum and of course a zero-vision is the ultimate thought.

2.      I have been fighting against difficulties with the breathing process as long as I can remember and when it finally come to an end it such a relief so a small dent don’t bother me in the same way it did before. The physical aspects with PE is what have bothered me most and a struggle against myths related to the condition. And not to mention the complete unwillingness to care about it from a Swedish-health-care-system-perspective. My struggle and my blog is the ultimate revenge and a proof that an impossible mission can be completed (from some aspects). That is how I view it.

Will I give up?

No. I will never give up. But the time has come to withdraw the declaration of war against PE. For me MY battle is over. If my PE will continue to improve, be so. But I am not willing to fight it the same way I did in the past.

Will I continue with my blog?

Yes. I have a lot more to tell especially about my experience in going to the gym. But also a lot of other things. After all, I will continue to develop new strategies and the site is under constant development.