§ 01
Posture Assessment
Clinical fitness assessment

Static Posture Assessment

Identify postural deviations that may contribute to pain, injury risk, or movement dysfunction.

Equipment

No special equipment. A plumb line or grid is helpful but not required.

The protocol
  1. 01Ask the client to stand naturally in their normal posture — do not cue them to "stand up straight".
  2. 02Observe from the LATERAL view (side): Check for forward head position, rounded shoulders, thoracic kyphosis, anterior pelvic tilt.
  3. 03Observe from the ANTERIOR view (front): Check for knee valgus, foot position, shoulder height symmetry.
  4. 04Observe from the POSTERIOR view (back): Check for shoulder asymmetry, hip asymmetry, spinal alignment, calf symmetry.
  5. 05For each checkpoint, note whether the deviation is present.
  6. 06Calculate posture score: 8 minus the number of deviations found.
What to watch for
  • Client self-correcting when they know they are being observed — tell them you are checking their "normal standing position".
  • Clothing hiding key landmarks — shorts and a fitted top work best.
  • Confusing normal anatomical variation with dysfunction.
  • Not checking all three views (anterior, lateral, posterior).
How to read the result

There is no published normative standard for Static Posture Assessment that we would stand behind, so we do not publish one. Read it against the same client’s own earlier results instead: the direction and size of their change over time is the result.

Run it with GainPT

Run this test with branded client reports.

GainPT scores Static Posture Assessment against published normative data and turns it into a clean, GainPT-branded PDF your client keeps. All 47 clinical tests, unlimited retests — free to start, no card required.