Stability of Kyphosis, Strength, and Physical Performance Gains 1 Year After a Group Exercise Program in Community-Dwelling Hyperkyphotic Older Women

Abstract Pawlowsky SB, Hamel KA, Katzman WB. Stability of kyphosis, strength, and physical performance gains 1 year after a group exercise program in community-dwelling hyperkyphotic older women. Objective To determine if subjects maintained improvements in kyphosis, spinal extensor strength, and physical performance 1 year after a 12-week multidimensional group exercise program. Design Follow-up data compared with posttest outcome measures. Setting Outpatient academic medical center. Participants Nineteen of the initial 21 women, ages 65 to 80, with thoracic kyphosis of 50° or greater at the onset of the study completed follow-up testing. Interventions Initial intervention included multidimensional group exercise performed 2 times a week for 12 weeks, consisting of spinal extensor strengthening, flexibility exercises, and integrated spinal proprioception training. Subjects exercised independently during the following year. Main Outcome Measures Primary measures at the 1-year follow-up were usual and best kyphosis. Secondary measures included spinal extensor strength, modified Physical Performance Test (PPT), and the Jug Test. Results Subjects maintained gains at the 1-year follow-up ( P >.05). Best kyphosis improved by 3° during the follow-up year ( P =.022). There were no significant declines in usual kyphosis ( P =.302), spinal extensor strength ( P =.999), PPT ( P =.087), and the Jug Test ( P =.999) at follow-up. Conclusions Hyperkyphotic women maintained gains in usual kyphosis, spinal extensor strength, and physical performance 1 year after a group exercise program. Improvement in best kyphosis in the year after the intervention was also observed. Detraining effects may be minimized by multidimensional exercises.