Improving posture: Comparing Segmental Stretch and Muscular Chains Therapy

Abstract

Muscular Chains Therapy (MCT), which uses postural positions for global stretching, and Segmental Stretch Technique (SST), which stretches one muscle at a time, are two static stretching techniques currently used to improve, correct and treat postural imbalances. Aiming to identify which of these two techniques is most effective in order to improve standing posture, 30 women between 21 and 30 years old were evaluated and divided into three groups of 10 participants each: The SST group, the MCT Group and the Control Group (CG). Postures were evaluated before and after treatment through digital photographs. After transferring the images to the computer, tracings were made with Corel Draw software using six marked anatomical points: intertragic notch; anterior part of the lateral border of the acromion; suprasternal notch; posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS); anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS); the inferior angle of the scapula; and right lateral malleolus. The two experimental groups underwent eight sessions of stretching, twice a week, for about 30 min each session. The MCT Group was found more effective (p < 0.05) than the SST and CG in the variables ASIS (p = 0.001), PSIS (p = 0.001) and acromion (p = 0.001). No statistically significant differences were found in postural variables scapula, acromion-line and line-intertragic notch. In conclusion, the MCT stretching was superior to the SST in treating postural deviations.