The effect of Schroth exercises on kyphosis angle and the mobility of shoulder and spine joints in volleyball athletes with hyper-kyphosis

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Schroth exercises on the kyphosis angle and increased mobility of the shoulder and spine joints in volleyball athletes with kyphosis.

Methodology: 30 volleyball athletes with increased kyphosis were voluntarily selected and randomly divided into two training groups (15 people) and control (15 people). The degree of kyphosis curvature, the mobility of the shoulder joints and the spine were measured using the kyphosis measurement software and add-on, the shoulder joint mobility test and the sitting rotation test, respectively, before and after eight weeks of Schroth exercises. The research findings were analyzed using Covariance, U-man-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests. All statistical operations were performed by SPSS software version 27 at a significance level of 0.05.

Results: The results of the present study showed that after eight weeks of specialized Schrouth exercises, the amount of kyphosis curvature in the training group significantly decreased compared to the control group, and the mobility of the shoulder and spine joints increased (p<0.05).

Discussion: Schroth's specialized exercises, since they emphasize correcting the alignment of the spine as well as the correct pattern of activation of the muscles involved in kyphosis, can be a solution for improving the thoracic kyphosis angle as well as the mobility of the joints. Therefore, it is suggested to corrective exercise specialists, and sports trainers to use the Schroth exercises used in the present study to correct increased kyphosis.