A systematic search of the literature attempted to answer the following two questions: (a) Do muscular length and strength have an essential influence on human posture? and (b) Can posture be changed by various exercises? We used a specially developed system of investigation to guarantee that the literature search would provide us with an unprejudiced and thorough answer to these questions. We searched Medline, Embasse, and Cochrane and other important data banks for medical and related literature. The results of our search spanned a period from 1965 to 2000, from authors in various professions, encompassing published as well as unpublished papers. We used existing evaluation forms (PEDro scale) as well as newly developed ones, based on the recommendations of Crombie (1996) and the Cochrane Handbook for literature studies 2000. In order to determine the overall meaningfulness of any given study, both its individual quality as well as its place in the hierarchy of study design were taken into account. The studies were unable to prove the assumed relationship between muscular strength or length and posture, nor were they able to confirm any significant effect of exercises on posture. However, the general quality of the literature is somewhat mediocre and the results of the studies are not uniform. We discovered many weak points which serve as inspiration to create new and better studies in this field.

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