Objective
To evaluate the effect of back-strengthening exercise on posture in 60 healthy estrogen-deficient
women.
Design
The 60 study subjects were randomly assigned to either an exercise or a control group,
and various factors were assessed at time of enrollment in the study and at 2-year
follow-up.
Material and Methods
The 32 women in the exercise group were instructed in progressive back-strengthening
exercises, whereas the 28 women in the control group had no exercise prescription
and were asked to continue their usual physical and dietary activities. At baseline
and 2-year follow-up examinations, back extensor strength was measured with a strain-gauge
dynamometer, and lateral roentgenograms of the thoracic and lumbar areas of the spine
were obtained to measure the angles of thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, and sacral
inclination. The changes in radiographic measurements and back extensor strength were
analyzed statistically.
Results
Back extensor strength increased significantly in both the exercise and the control
groups, but no radiographic measurements were significantly different between these
groups. The significant increase in back extensor strength in both groups of healthy
women suggested that the original grouping did not accurately reflect the amount of
exercise. Thus, the 60 subjects were reclassified for comparison on the basis of increase
in back extensor strength—27 with more than or equal to the mean increase of 21.1
kg and 33 with less than 21.1 kg. Furthermore, each of these groups of subjects was
subdivided on the basis of degree of thoracic kyphosis. Among the subjects with substantial
thoracic kyphosis, those with a significant increase in back extensor strength had
a significant decrease in thoracic kyphosis (−2.8 ± 4.2°; P = 0.041), whereas those with a small increase in strength had a nonsignificant increase
in thoracic kyphosis (1.8 ± 5.3°). The increase in back extensor strength did not
seem to affect mild degrees of kyphosis.
Conclusion
Increasing the back extensor strength in healthy estrogen-deficient women helps decrease
thoracic kyphosis.
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Article info
Footnotes
This study was supported in part by grants from the Retirement Research Foundation and Mayo Foundation.
Identification
Copyright
© 1994 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
