To investigate the prevalence of incorrect posture and compare the specific posture deviations between male and female adolescents in secondary schools.
This study was a cross-sectional study. The participants aged 10 to 19 years were recruited in the school posture screening program. The physical therapists used the REEDCO posture assessment tool to determine the incorrect posture in posterior and lateral views. From the posterior, five areas consisting of the head, shoulder level, spine, hip level, and ankle were assessed. The lateral view observations included the neck, upper back, trunk, abdomen, and lower back. A score of less than 60 out of 100 reflected postural dysfunctions. In addition, Adam’s forward bending test (FBT) with the angle of trunk rotation (ATR) was also performed. The Chi-square test was used to determine the differences of abnormal posture proportion.
There were 480 participants, 257 males and 223 females, enrolled in this study. The mean age was 13.32 +/- 1.01 years. Out of those, 5.63% of participants had posture dysfunction. In addition, the posture dysfunction had approximately 9.83% and 1.83% among males and female respectively. Overall, Males were 5.38 times more likely to develop posture dysfunction than females (CI: 1.83 – 15.81). The proportion of ankle posture deviation in posterior view and the upper back region posture deviation in lateral view were significantly higher in males compared with females (p0.001 and p=0.002). However, there were no significant differences between sex in the distribution of posture characteristics of the head, shoulder, spine, hips, neck, trunk, abdomen, and lower back. Interestingly, more than half of participants in both groups tend to have forward neck posture (60.84%) or asymmetrical shoulder (57.08%). However, 2.2% of females had an angle of trunk rotation (ATR) of more than 7 degrees during Adam’s forward bending test, whereas males had only 0.8% with this condition.
Male adolescents were more likely to have posture dysfunction especially rounded or flattened upper back and feet pointed out. Additionally, more than half of all adolescents were identified with uneven shoulder height and a forward neck posture. However, the chance of scoliosis occurrence was greater observed in females than males.
The school posture screening program is an important policy that should be provided in primary and secondary schools to explore those who have posture problems. Furthermore, specific intervention is urgently required for posture improvement and prevention of further complications.
Adolescent
Scoliosis
