Who has a pigeon's breast (pectus carinatum) can practice gym, provided you use a chest bracing. Doing bodybuilding without using a bracing can worsen the pigeon's chest or make the deformity more rigid. Increasing muscle mass only disguises the problem and does not correct the deformity.
The only physical activity that a person with a pigeon's chest can do in the gym without using a bracing is swimming. Although not able to correct deformity on its own, swimming does not increase stiffness or worsen the condition.
Yet, well-done and executed exercises, with the patient using a suitable and adapted bracing to their reality, can contribute significantly to the remodeling of bones and cartilages of the chest as a whole, improving the appearance of pigeon chest.
It is important to remember that no exercise performed alone is capable of softening the deformity, since there is no muscle in the human body that can "push" the sternum and improve the pigeon's chest.
For further information please consult a orthopedic surgeon, which will define the exercises that may or may not be done in the gym, as well as the type of orthosis that should be used with them.
