Prevalence of postural changes in children and adolescents in schools of Algarve

• Main Authors: Beatriz Minghelli, Filipa Daniela Granadeiro Abílio, Ana Alexandra Góis, Ana Lúcia Timóteo, Hugo Alexandre Florença, Nuno Henrique Lóia, Teresa Isabel Jesus, Filipa Alexandra Serra, Maria Inês Duarte
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa 2015-11-01
• Series: Saúde & Tecnologia
• Subjects: programas de rastreio, escola, postura, adolescente, avaliação postural
• Online Access: https://web.estesl.ipl.pt/ojs/index.php/ST/article/view/274

Several conditions contribute to the development of postural changes, especially in children and adolescents. These changes can be connected with future orthopaedic and rheumatic problems if not prematurely detected. Consequently, this study aim was to examine the prevalence of postural changes in children and teenagers studying in some Algarve’s basic schools, using postural evaluation method and Adams’s test. The results revealed 80,5% students with a higher shoulder, 59,5% showed asymmetrical Tales’s triangle, 47,6% had lumbar hyperlordosis and 62,9% revealed lateral spine curvatures. The presence of gibbosity was verified in 67,8% of the students and a reduced number of them showed lower limbs changes. Throughout these results, it seems important the screening programs establishment and the modification of school environment, a process that will necessarily involve students, teachers, parents and the whole school community.