Differing Posture Measurements
Measurement precision is critical to the study of posture as an objective physical marker. Many studies used radiographic analysis (the gold standard Cobb angle) to measure the angle of kyphosis compared to QOL.8,21,24,25,33 Inclinometers were employed in 2 studies in this review to evaluate posture after an exercise intervention and found statistically significant improvement in kyphosis over time.31,32 In one study using a cross-sectional design, a statistically significant relationship between posture (based on inclinometer measurements) and QOL was shown in 34 adult women with osteoporosis (r=-0.48, p<0.005).22 The inclinometer had reported adequate measurement precision with high interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICCs] ranging from 0.89 to 0.96).31,32,34