Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 5, 2026
Clinical Efficacy of Ultrasound-Assisted Scoliosis-Specific Exercise in Mild-Grade Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis
Published on: December 2, 2025
Study of Hyperkyphosis, Exercise and Function (SHEAF) Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Multimodal
Wendy B Katzman1, Eric Vittinghoff2, Deborah M Kado3
1W.B. Katzman, PT, DPTSc, OCS, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, University of California, San Francisco, UCSF Box 0625, San Francisco, CA 94143-0625 (USA). wendy.katzman@ucsf.edu.
Background:
Hyperkyphosis negatively affects health status, physical mobility, and quality of life, but there is no standard protocol for treating people with hyperkyphosis. Treatment options include targeted exercise.
Objectives:
This single-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) will determine the efficacy of a targeted multimodal spine-strengthening exercise program, compared with no exercise intervention, among community-dwelling men and women aged ≥60 years.
Design:
The RCT is a parallel-group design, with 1:1 randomization to exercise and attentional control groups.
Setting:
The study will be conducted at one primary site (one academic medical center partnered with one local community medical center).
Participants:
One hundred men and women, aged ≥60 years, with thoracic kyphosis ≥40 degrees will be randomized.
Intervention:
The targeted multimodal spine-strengthening exercise intervention includes exercise and postural training delivered by a physical therapist in a group of 10 participants, 3 times a week for 6 months. Controls receive monthly health education meetings in a group of 10 participants and monthly calls from the study coordinator to monitor physical activity and any adverse events.
Measurements:
The primary outcome is change in Cobb angle of kyphosis measured from lateral spine radiographs at baseline and 6 months. Secondary outcomes include change in physical function (assessed with the modified Physical Performance Test, Timed "Up & Go" Test, timed loaded standing, 4-m walk, and Six-Minute Walk Test) and health-related quality of life (assessed with the modified Scoliosis Research Society instrument [SRS-30] self-image domain and Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System [PROMIS] global health and physical function indexes). Additional secondary outcomes include pain, physical activity level, spinal flexion and extension muscle strength, paraspinal extensor muscle density, and adverse events.
Limitations:
Blinding of the participants and instructors providing the intervention is not possible.
Conclusions:
The efficacy of a high-quality, adequately powered exercise intervention in men and women with kyphosis ≥40 degrees will be evaluated to determine whether targeted multimodal spine-strengthening exercise reduces hyperkyphosis in older adults and improves important secondary outcomes of physical function and health-related quality of life.
More Related Videos
06:45Modified Posterior Vertebral Column Resection for Patients with Thoracolumbar Kyphotic Deformity
Published on: September 16, 2022
06:28Biomechanical Changes Related to Low Back Pain: An Innovative Tool for Movement Pattern Assessment and Treatment Evaluation in Rehabilitation
Published on: December 13, 2024