A feasibility study on home-based kyphosis-specific exercises on reducing thoracic hyperkyphosis in older adults.
Wei Ying Li, Jinling Lu, Yong Dai and 2 others
PMID 37128480WHAT IT FOUND
A six-week nurse-led program combining weekly classes, daily home practice, video guidance, and a logbook was feasible, and 20 older adults had reduced kyphosis angles, better balance and gait.
With no control group, the program components may not be the cause.
Key findings
01Participants attended all group classes and completed a median 33.0 home-practice days, with adherence 94.3% by days and 76.7% by total practice time.
02Kyphosis angle decreased by a median -12.0° in relaxed posture and -10.0° in best posture.
03One-leg standing time increased by 23.7 s, Timed Up & Go time decreased by 2.3 s, and six-minute walking distance increased by 23.5 m.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a feasibility study with 20 participants and no control group, so it cannot show that the program caused the improvements. Participants were selected because they could already reduce their kyphosis angle by at least 5° in best posture, so results may not apply to older adults with less posture-change potential. Kyphosis angle was measured with a manual inclinometer rather than radiation imaging, although the tool was reported to have good reliability. Home practice adherence was lower when measured by total time than by days, and participants often practiced in fragmented shorter sessions rather than the full hour. Long-term adherence fell to 30% at 15 months, and subgroup findings were secondary and inconsistent.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the exercises alone caused the improvements. The study had 20 participants, no control group, and the intervention included group classes, home practice, video guidance, and a logbook, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.