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Table 8 Functional characteristics of muscles in the sway-back posture

From: Non-structural misalignments of body posture in the sagittal plane

Muscle Lengthened Shortened Hypoactive Hyperactive
Trapezius (middle and lower part) +   +  
Serratus anterior +   +  
Rhomboideus major and minor +   +  
Erector spinae part thoracic (upper part) +    +
Erector spinae lumbar part (upper part) +   +  
Rectus abdominis (lower fibers) +    +
Abdominal internal oblique (anterior part, lower fibers) +    +
Abdominal internal oblique (posterior part, lower fibers) +   +  
Abdominal external oblique (lower fibers) +    +
Iliacus +   +  
Psoas +    +
Two-joint hip flexors +    +
Suboccipital   +   +
Sternocleidomastoid   +   +
Scaleni   +   +
Trapezius (superior part)   +   +
Pectoralis minor and major   +   +
Erector spinae lumbar part (lower part)   + +  
Rectus abdominis (upper fibers)   +   +
Abdominal internal oblique (anterior part, upper fibers)   +   +
Abdominal internal oblique (posterior part, upper fibers)   + +  
Abdominal external oblique (upper fibers)   +   +
Gluteus maximus   + +  
Hamstrings   +   +
  1. Note: the symbol “+” means that the muscle meets a certain criteria