https://padlet.com/ahmed_gemi2013/md7p4ridk4di Made with a warm hug en-us 2016-06-09 08:37:57 UTC 2026-01-04 10:21:05 UTC hello@padlet.com ahmed_gemi2013 https://padlet.com/ahmed_gemi2013/md7p4ridk4di/wish/114184376 Scientists have analyzed the bones of the British monarch and determined that he was not actually a hunchback. In fact, he had a significant spinal curve that we would call scoliosis. Researchers published their latest results Thursday in the Lancet.
"It's a twist rather than a forward bend," said study co-author Piers Mitchell of the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge.
"We were expecting him to have a hunchback deformity the way Shakespeare described," he added.
The spine appeared to have a twist indicative of scoliosis. Researchers measured the angle of curve and used medical research to understand what Richard's life might have been like.
The diagnosis of scoliosis means Richard III had a physical health condition in common with about 2% to 3% of the American population, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. "Buffy" actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, top golfer Stacy Lewis and Judy Blume's character Deenie all have it, too.
Richard's scoliosis was probably not inherited, and it probably began sometime after he was 10, researchers said.
Conditions such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy might cause scoliosis, but those are rare explanations, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In up to 85% of people with scoliosis, including Richard III, there is no known cause, according to the National Institutes of Health. Doctors call this "idiopathic." Normally in scoliosis, the spine takes on a shape that resembles the letter "S" or "C."
Richard's spine has a curvature of 70 to 80 degrees. Anything over 50 degrees is a candidate for surgery, Mitchell said; the NIH puts this figure at 45 degrees.
Research has not proved that chiropractic manipulation, electrical stimulation, nutritional supplementation or exercise stop curves that are worsening, although exercise has other benefits for general well-being.
The spinal curve probably wouldn't have reduced Richard's lung capacity such that he couldn't exercise, researchers said.
The real Richard does not appear to have had a limp or a withered arm, as Shakespeare had described. His trunk and abdomen would have appeared short compared with his arms and legs, Mitchell said. His right shoulder would have been slightly higher than the left. ]]> 2016-06-09 08:53:47 UTC https://padlet.com/ahmed_gemi2013/md7p4ridk4di/wish/114184376