Change of Cervical Curvature Angle by Wearing the Posture Corrective Garment

Objective: The purpose of this study was to measure the wearing effect of the posture corrective garments. The experimental garments were developed by reflecting the kinematical relation of sternoclavicular articulation, spine and muscles of dorsum. The posture correction effect was measured by the change of cervical curvature angle and distance. Background: Contemporary lifestyle pushes the people an unhealthy posture. The way of rehabilitation medicine has been increased to solve this problem. In the fashion industry, functional garments to correct posture are commercialized. However, there are few studies which analyze quantitatively the effect of posture corrective clothing. Method: Two types of posture corrective garments were developed. They spread shoulders and straighten the cervical vertebral and lumbar by changing sternoclavicular articulation. The posture correction effect was measured by the change of cervical curvature angle and horizontal distance between cervical curvature and tragion. 4 subjects participated in the experiment. They had various cervical curvature angles. Results: The cervical curvature angle of the subjects varied from 26°to 41° at static posture without experimental garments. By wearing the posture corrective garments, their cervical curvature angle was decreased by 1.39°~7.75°. The result implies that the developed posture correction garments have positive effect on the people who have low level of cervical lordosis. Application: the relation between design feature and the wearing effect of the posture corrective garments should be studied in the follow-up study.