The evaluation of upright posture caused by simple movement test

Area of Science:

• Biomechanical analysis
• Spinal kinematics
• Posture assessment

Background:

• Increasing prevalence of poor posture, particularly in the cervical-thoracic spine.
• Need for effective evaluation methods for posture and spinal movement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a model-based evaluation of posture and segmental spinal movement.
• To assess the influence of shoulder position on cervical-thoracic spine posture.
• To evaluate upright posture using a simple movement test.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 25 subjects with forward head posture.
• Measured kinematics of the cervical-thoracic spine, pelvis, and thorax in the sagittal plane using motion analysis.
• Assessed external humeral rotation and shoulder adduction influence on posture.

Main Results:

• Developed a kinematic model for evaluating upright posture.
• Demonstrated a strong correlation (Pearson r = 0.89; p < 0.01) between trunk gradients in initial and final positions.
• Electromyography was used as a control measure.

Conclusions:

• Postural quality is more critical than the quantity of spinal movement for upright posture.
• Upright cervical-thoracic spine posture is achieved when the pelvis and thorax are in a horizontal position.
• Findings have implications for clinical practice in posture correction.