Relationship between thoracic kyphosis, bone mineral density, and postural control in elderly women

Objectives: To verify the relationship between the angle of thoracic kyphosis, bone mineral density, and postural control in elderly women. Methods: Through a cross-sectional study, 95 elderly participants were subdivided into four groups according to the thoracic kyphosis angle (obtained by the flexicurve method) and to bone densitometry results. On the force platform and through the dynamic test, stabilometric data were obtained. For statistical analysis, we assessed the performance of each group on the force platform by non-parametric tests: between group comparison (Mann-Whitney) and within group comparison according to the condition of the eyes - open or closed (Signed Rank). Results: On the force platform, the only statistically significant difference was found between groups 1 (loss of bone mass and increased thoracic kyphosis) and 3 (no loss of bone mass or increase in thoracic kyphosis) in the anteroposterior direction (p=0.0124). All groups presented different performances with the eyes open and closed in the mediolateral direction, except for group 3 (p=0.4263), whereas in the anteroposterior direction, we did not observe differences. Conclusion: The results suggest an influence of the angle of thoracic kyphosis and bone mineral density on the postural control of our sample in the anteroposterior direction and in the standing position.