About Pectus Academy

Pectus Academy is a project by Javier Santana. It publishes guides and a 16-week program on posture, breathing and training for people with pectus excavatum. It is not a clinic or a medical service.

Who writes this?

My name is Javier Santana. I am not a doctor or a physical therapist: I write from my own experience with pectus excavatum and back every figure with sources you can check.

My story

I was born with pectus excavatum. It runs in my family. At 10, comparing myself with others, I became aware that my chest was different. For more than twenty years I did nothing about it: I thought surgery was the only way out. I was very active in sports, I did not want to be sidelined for that long, and the operation scared me.

At 33 I started to understand how the body works and to work on my posture, which for me is the main thing, along with breathing and training. For more than a year I also used a vacuum bell. It did not happen overnight: I figured it out little by little.

What changed for me?

Today my pectus is corrected. I look and feel better, with better posture and more confidence. That is my experience and I cannot promise you the same result: every chest is different, and it depends on your age, the depth of the dip and your consistency.

What is experience and what is evidence?

• Experience: what I tell in the first person. I label it as such.
• Evidence: figures and claims about treatments. Each one has its source at the end of the page, with the year of the study.
• What is unknown: when the studies fall short, we say so. Every article has a “what we know and what we don't” section.

Pages show when they were last updated. If you find a mistake, write to hola@pectusacademy.com and we will correct it.

What we don't do

• We do not diagnose or assess individual cases.
• We do not promise a result.
• We do not replace your doctor.

If you notice shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitations, or you tire more than usual during exercise, see a doctor before starting any program.

What we offer and how it is funded

A free guide to the 4 most common posture mistakes and the complete 16-week program, a 96-page PDF guide. Pectus Academy is funded by sales of that program and of two accessories: a vacuum bell and a posture corrector.

For any questions, use the contact page.