Age effects in kyphosis and lordosis in adults

Abstract

SummaryA surveyor's flexicurve has been used to measure kyphosis and lordosis in a cross-sectional study of men and women aged 20–90 years. No age effect was found in men aged 20–59 years or in women aged 20–49 years. Linear regressions showed an increase in kyphosis with age in older men and women. Various indices were examined to test their suitability as estimates of kyphosis. Lordosis was absent in an increasingly large proportion of men and women as age rose above 60 years.