Relationship between Thoracic Spine Curvature and Shoulder Impingement Syndrome: A Systematic Review

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 Department of Physiotherapy , Faculty of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran

2 Department of Sport Injuries and Corrective Exercise, Faculty of Physical Education, Guilan University, Rasht, Iran

10.22038/jpsr.2025.82228.2650

Abstract

Purpose:
Shoulder impingement syndrome is the most common form of shoulder pain and a persistent musculoskeletal problem. Conservative and invasive treatments, aimed at the shoulder joint, have had limited success. Researches suggest shoulder function is related to thoracic posture, however, it is unknown whether thoracic posture is associated with Shoulder impingement syndrome.
Methods:
Search engines including Web of Science, Pubmed, Scopus & Google scholar with the time range from 2007 to 2024 and keywords) “thoracic spine “OR “thoracic curve” OR “thoracic shape” OR “kyphosis” OR “hyper kyphosis” OR “thoracic vertebral” OR “thoracic posture” OR “sagittal curve” OR “Shoulder pain” OR “Rotator cuff” OR “shoulder joint pain” (AND) “shoulder impingement syndrome” OR “sub acromial impingement syndrome” OR “subacrom” OR “supraspinat” OR “rotator cuff”(  were used. The present study was based on PRISMA systematic review method.
Results:
Seven articles were selected based on the research inclusion criteria. These studies investigated the relationship between thoracic spine curvature and shoulder impingement syndrome. The results of these studies showed that the abnormal increase in the curvature of the thoracic spine can lead to shoulder impingement.
Conclusion:
According to the results of the studies, increasing the curvature of the thoracic spine leads to shoulder impingement syndrome. However, the current body of literature shows limitations regarding its quality and methodology. On the other hand, as the methods used to assess shoulder impingement are different, it is not possible to have many studies with a standard method for assessing shoulder impingement, and therefore, the final conclusion requires more studies with similar methods, as well as studies that show the sensitivity of kyphosis to shoulder impingement.

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