Spinal and shoulder complex posture. II: thoracic alignment and shoulder complex position in normal and osteoporotic women

Abstract

Thoracic spine and shoulder complex posture were measured in 57 women over the age of 50. On the basis of thoracic spine measures, the women were divided into normal posture ( n = 27), thoracic kyphosis (n = 18) and thoracolumbar kyphosis (n = 12) posture groups. Analysis of variance was used to determine if shoulder complex postural measures differed in the three groups. In the sagittal plane, both abnormal posture groups had significantly greater forward angulation of the scapula and humeral extension compared with the normal posture group. In the transverse plane, scapular protraction and the angle between the scapular spine and clavicle were significantly greater in the thoracic kyphosis group compared with the other two groups. In the coronal plane, the abduction angle of the humerus was significantly less in the thoracic kyphosis group compared with the normal posture group. No difference was found in scapular position in this plane. Although differences were apparent between the posture groups, many of the clinical hypotheses regarding the effect of spinal posture on shoulder complex position were not substantiated by the results of this study.

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