Sunken Chest or Pectus Escavatum

**racin_jason** · 11-19-2003, 12:37 PM

Hi, This is my first post on this site and my first time asking this question, I've recently starting weght lifting, and training at my local gym, I've been getting good results all on every muscle groupe that I've been working on, but my one area of concern is my chest...

When I was born doctors noted that I have Pectus Escavatum or a sunken/funnel chest where the center of the rig cage moves inward and the outer part of the ribs moves outward. The doctor that I had sen before I started going to the gym said that this should not be a problem, and should not really effect anything, as far as muscle build up goes..

I was just wondering if there was anybody here who has this, or knows anybody who has this and could tell me if I should stay concerned and be careful or it shouldn't cause a problem keep on training.

Thanks alot
Jason

**Woden** · 11-19-2003, 01:07 PM

Well, as far as doctors go, see if you can get a second opinion. Also go see a chiropractor.

**chicksalloverme** · 11-19-2003, 02:56 PM

yea, my friend has this, but his chest in the middle is ALL the way in. i know wut u talking bout. Lifting for chest should help a lil cuz it will give u mass and make it look better. but u should ask ur doctor if it is ok to lift.

**ahab** · 11-19-2003, 03:15 PM

Someone with this same condition posted pictures in the post your pics section, do a search for that and you might find more.

**richie191** · 11-19-2003, 04:27 PM

Originally posted by racin_jason
Hi, This is my first post on this site and my first time asking this question, I've recently starting weght lifting, and training at my local gym, I've been getting good results all on every muscle groupe that I've been working on, but my one area of concern is my chest...

When I was born doctors noted that I have Pectus Escavatum or a sunken/funnel chest where the center of the rig cage moves inward and the outer part of the ribs moves outward. The doctor that I had sen before I started going to the gym said that this should not be a problem, and should not really effect anything, as far as muscle build up goes..

I was just wondering if there was anybody here who has this, or knows anybody who has this and could tell me if I should stay concerned and be careful or it shouldn't cause a problem keep on training.

Thanks alot
Jason

My best friend in the world has, or had, this condition. His was sunk in really bad. He had surgery a couple years ago when he was 16, and now it's hardly noticable. They just put a curved bar in his chest and twisted it around, pushing his ribs back out. they actually had to do it again because the bar flipped around after the first time. I doubt yours is that bad though. As far as building muscle-- I saw a guy at a bodybuilding show compete with pectus excavatum. He was really tall and somewhat muscular, but did bad mostly because he was in the super heavies and not big enough. You could tell his chest was sunk in, but it didn't take away from his physique too bad. So if you plan on competing, go for it! If you're concered about your safety, just tell your doctor if your experience chest pain while you're working out. My friend tried to work out, but had to stop because it hurt. If it's bad enough, you could get free surgery

Richie

**Dravyck** · 11-19-2003, 05:13 PM

Originally posted by Woden
Well, as far as doctors go, see if you can get a second opinion. Also go see a chiropractor.

What is the source that said going to a chiropractor would help him?

**golfguy** · 11-19-2003, 05:16 PM

Originally posted by David Drake
What is the source that said going to a chiropractor would help him?

lol what is it with people and sources =P
also i wouldnt waste my money for an opionion like that,
lifting aint gonna hurt it, i have p/c myself and lifting
actually helps it.

**Hodie** · 11-19-2003, 06:01 PM

dude i got one 2. I was pretty self conscious about it and didn't like to take my shirt off. But now since i've started weight lifting and gettin bigger the mass takes away some of the depth from my chest. I"m goin to see a plastic surgeon in a month to see if he can put a little inplant in it to make it less noticable. But it's safe to keep lifting don't worry.

**TheDude1027** · 11-23-2003, 07:09 PM

hey man, i have that too. i actually got surgery for it when i was 16 and the result was great, but when the bar got taken out it sunk back in a little bit. it's not really that bad anymore so I can live with it. my doc said it was good to weight train for it.

**racin_jason** · 11-23-2003, 09:27 PM

I gotta ask. What did the surgery involve? was it painful? How much did the proceedure cost?

I've wanted to do it but never really got much information...

**TheDude1027** · 11-23-2003, 09:37 PM

The sugery for me involved them putting a curved bar inside the chest and "popping" the sternum out into place. The result was aesthetically great while the bar was in and my chest was perfect looking. For some reason my chest sunk back in a bit when it was taken out, but it's really not that bad and I doubt most people could tell the difference. It only really shows itself when I suck my stomach in and you can see the whole shape of the ribcage.

The original surgery was pretty damn painful and it took over a month to fully recover. I would only advise it if your condition is serious because I really couldn't move well for awhile afterwards. I couldn't work out or do much of anything while recovering so I gained a lot of weight. Oddly enough, for all the pain that there was when they first corrected it, there was little to none after the bar was taken out and the chest sunk back in. I'd have thought having my bone structure change again might hurt. But it didn't. My insurance covered it but I dunno how it works for everyone.

**TheDude1027** · 11-23-2003, 09:49 PM

Here are some pics of me before and after my surgery. The after one I think was taken 1 or 2 days after I got home from the hospital. And I know, I was a skinny bastard back then, that's why I'm on this site!

http://even99.hypermart.net/before1.jpg
http://even99.hypermart.net/before2.jpg
http://even99.hypermart.net/before3.jpg
http://even99.hypermart.net/after1.jpg

I don't have a webcam here nor any pics of what I look like now, but I will try to get some soon! Feel free to ask any other questions.

**racin_jason** · 11-24-2003, 09:35 AM

mines pretty bad, from the outer most part of my rins to the inner most, it's 3 1/2 " deep and the left side sticks out 1/2" more that the right

**pectuspt** · 07-13-2016, 04:20 PM

To answer if you should train or not, Depends on the severity and if it is painful to train and if your condition is more then just cosmetic. You should see a doctor. If it is just cosmetic, I recommend going to pectuspt. com for advise on bodybuilding to fix Pectus Excavatum

Thanks alot
Jason[/QUOTE]

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