A chest wall deformity is a structural abnormality of the chest that can range from mild to severe. Chest wall deformities occur when the cartilage that connects the ribs grows unevenly. It is not clear why this happens, but the condition tends to run in families. The two most common types of chest wall deformity are Pectus excavatum and Pectus carinatum, Pectus carinatum goes far beyond a simple esthetical problem. It can be responsible of physical signs and symptoms and also has significant psychological impact. Defects tend to worsen during pubertal growth spurts and even during adult life. Recent evidence shows that these patients are at risk for a disturbed body image and reduced quality of life and many patients refer feelings of discomfort, shame, shyness, anxiety, anguish, and even depression, which can lead to social isolation. Chest pain or discomfort, especially when lying in prone position, intolerance to physical exercise, scoliosis, impaired shoulders and kyphotic position are some of the physical signs and symptoms.Non-invasive treatment approaches for PC include compression orthosis and exercises that target the deformity itself and concurrent postural impairment and scoliosis. In addition, the formation of muscles can help close the deformity. Most evidence of non-invasive treatment is retrospective or prospective case series. In a prospective case series, patients were instructed to perform chest wall strengthening exercises, but the effects of the exercises were not investigated . Although, exercise training is recommended, there is no randomized study showing its effectiveness in the literature. Therefore, in our study, the investigators aimed to investigate the effectiveness of exercise therapy in addition to compression orthotics.
Pectus Carinatum (PC); deformity in which the front wall of the chest protrudes forward. Non-invasive treatment approaches for PC include compression orthosis and exercises that target the deformity itself and concurrent postural impairment and scoliosis. In addition, the formation of muscles can help close the deformity. Although exercise training is recommended, there is no randomized study showing its effectiveness in the literature. Therefore, in our study, the investigators aimed to investigate the effectiveness of exercise therapy in addition to compression orthotics.