Page 57 - Welcome to Posture Pro

3) Trunk deformity is associated with a reduction in outdoor activities of daily living and life
satisfaction in community-dwelling older people.

Osteoporos Int. 2005 Mar;16(3):273-9. Takahashi T, Ishida K, Hirose D, Nagano Y, Okumiya K,
Nishinaga M, Matsubayashi K, Doi Y, Tani T, Yamamoto H.

We have evaluated the association between trunk deformities of the sagittal plane and
functional impairment of daily living in community-dwelling elderly subjects. The analysis
involved a detailed assessment of indoor and outdoor activities of daily living, satisfaction with
life, and mental status. The participants in this study were 236 community-dwelling older
adults, aged 65 years and older, living in Kahoku district of Kochi in Japan. The participants
were classified based on their posture, which was assessed using photographs of the subjects,
and interviewed to assess their basic activities of daily living (BADL), instrumental ADL (IADL),
and cognitive well-being in the cross-sectional study… The lumbar kyphosis group received
significantly lower BADL and IADL scores than the normal group. The trunk deformity group
which were defined as kyphosis, flat back, and lumbar lordosis groups exhibited decreases in
activities that included going out, shopping, depositing and withdrawing money, and visiting
friends in the hospital. These activities require going outdoors; thus, this study showed that the
trunk deformity group had limitations in outdoor activities… The abnormal trunk deformity
groups tended to score lower than the normal group with regard to subjective healthiness and
life satisfaction measures, including subjective health condition, everyday feeling, satisfaction
with human relationships, satisfaction with economic condition, and satisfaction with present
life.

4) Video analysis of sagittal spinal posture in healthy and young adults

Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. Volume 32, Number 3, 2009;32:210-
215. Yi-Liang Kuo, Elizabeth A. Tully, PhD, and Mary P. Galea, PhD

Changes in posture are of concern because of their association with pain or impaired physical
function… Compared to young adults, healthy older adults demonstrated a forward head
posture, with increased lower cervical spine flexion and increased upper cervical extension in
both positions. Older adults also sat with significantly increased thoracic kyphosis and
decreased lumbar spine flexion… The angular relationship between adjacent spinal regions in
the sagittal plane can be objectively quantified using image-based analysis. The concept that
the anteroposterior tilt of the pelvis in standing dictates the lumbar and thoracic curves was
supported by the correlations between these adjacent regions in both age groups. The model
of skin marker placement used in this study can have a broader application as a clinical tool
for image-based postural assessment.

5) Reliability of a quantitative clinical posture assessment tool among persons with idiopathic
scoliosis.

Physiotherapy. 2012 Mar;98(1):64-75. Fortin C, Feldman DE, Cheriet F, Gravel D, Gauthier F,
Labelle H.