{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T05:05:04Z","timestamp":1789621504057,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789603200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Altered cervicothoracic and scapular posture may influence shoulder mechanics, but it remains unclear whether patients with non-traumatic rotator cuff tears show consistent static postural changes. This study compared the craniovertebral angle, rounded shoulder angle, and thoracic kyphosis angle between patients with non-traumatic rotator cuff tears and healthy individuals.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This single-center, cross-sectional observational study included 39 patients with imaging-confirmed, full-thickness, non-massive, non-traumatic rotator cuff tears scheduled for repair and 30 healthy controls. Thoracic kyphosis angle was measured using a digital gravity inclinometer, while craniovertebral angle and rounded shoulder angle were assessed using photogrammetry. Unadjusted between-group comparisons were performed using variance-robust tests as appropriate. Multivariable linear regression with HC3 heteroscedasticity-robust standard errors was treated as the principal inferential analysis and adjusted for age, body mass index, sex, and manual labor status.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Thoracic kyphosis angle was higher in the case group than in the control group (43.80\u00b0 vs. 40.23\u00b0; mean difference\u2009=\u20093.56\u00b0; 95% CI, 0.87\u20136.26; Cohen's\n                      <jats:italic>d<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.59;\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.011). No statistically significant unadjusted between-group differences were identified for rounded shoulder angle (50.41\u00b0 vs. 48.88\u00b0; mean difference\u2009=\u20091.53\u00b0; 95% CI, \u22122.58 to 5.64; Cohen's\n                      <jats:italic>d<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.19;\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.458) or craniovertebral angle (50.78\u00b0 vs. 47.97\u00b0; mean difference\u2009=\u20092.81\u00b0; 95% CI, \u22120.70 to 6.33; Cohen's\n                      <jats:italic>d<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.40;\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.115). After adjustment, case status remained associated with greater thoracic kyphosis angle (\n                      <jats:italic>B<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20093.98\u00b0; 95% CI, 1.30\u20136.66;\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.004), whereas the adjusted associations with craniovertebral angle and rounded shoulder angle were not statistically significant.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Patients with non-traumatic, full-thickness, non-massive rotator cuff tears had greater thoracic kyphosis than healthy controls. However, the clinical importance of the approximately 3.6\u00b0 unadjusted difference remains uncertain because protocol-specific measurement error could not be quantified. No statistically significant adjusted associations were identified for craniovertebral angle or rounded shoulder angle; these null findings should be interpreted cautiously given the study's limited sensitivity to moderate or smaller effects.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1928640","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T04:49:15Z","timestamp":1789620555000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Do patients with non-traumatic rotator cuff tears differ from healthy individuals in forward head posture, rounded shoulder posture, and thoracic kyphosis?"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Kanglin","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhongshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Zhongshan, Guangdong, 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China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yibei","family":"Zhi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhongshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Zhongshan, Guangdong, China"]},{"name":"Third Orthopedics Department, Zhongshan City Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital","place":["Zhongshan, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shihua","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhongshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Zhongshan, Guangdong, China"]},{"name":"Third Orthopedics Department, Zhongshan City Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital","place":["Zhongshan, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongdong","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tanzhou People\u2019s 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