Are the alterations in body posture related to decreased trunk muscle endurance in healthy young adults?

Abstract

Trunk muscle endurance exercises are commonly used for correcting the postural alterations. However, there is no study investigating the relationship between postural alignment and trunk muscle endurance in healthy young adults. The aim of this study was to examine whether the three-dimensional (3D) body posture is related to trunk muscle endurance in healthy young adults. Forty-two healthy young adults enrolled in this study. For 3D evaluation of the body posture, an internet-based postural assessment system was used. Alterations in posture (head, ribcage, and pelvis) were evaluated by using the Posture Index which represents the total score of postural displacements. The higher Posture Index scores indicate more severe displacements in the posture. Trunk muscle endurance measurements included side bridge, trunk flexors and trunk extensors endurance tests. Spearman's rho was used to evaluate the associations between measured parameters. The median age of the participants were 22 (IQR: 21.0-23.0) years. The only significant correlation was detected between the side bridge endurance test and the total Posture Index score (rho =⁣-0.402, p= 0.008). These results indicated that the alterations of the body posture was significantly related to lower lateral trunk muscle endurance scores. These findings support the importance of trunk muscles, especially lateral trunk musculature to have a better body posture.