Alterações posturais na adolescência

Postural changes in adolescence

Abstract

Objective: To identify and analyze postural changes in schoolchildren between 11 and 16 years old and their associations
with behavioral or anthropometric factors. Methods: Quantitative and descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted
through collecting data from a sample of 100 male and female schoolchildren between 11 and 16 years old. The data
analysis was based on chi-square hypothesis frequency testing and Fisher's exact test, with a signifi cance level of less than
0.05 for all analyses. Results: When assessing correlations between growth spurts and postural activities, it was noted that
they were more frequent during pre-spurt phases among boys, with 59% spending more than two hours a day on sedentary
recreational activities watching television, playing videogames and spending time on the computer. A positive correlation
(27%) was noted between back pain and absence of sports, as well as youngsters whose physical examinations presented
positive for the Adams test (10%). Conclusion: Although it is hard to predict how any postural changes will progress,
keeping patients under observation during growth periods proved to be essential for early diagnosis and the natural history
of these diseases.