Body Somatic Type Influence on the Spinal Curvatures in Early Age School Children: Preliminary Report.

INTRODUCTION Sedentary lifestyle and its consequences are becoming a serious problem not only among the elderly but also relate to children. Reduced muscle mass, disorder of normal spinal curves or problems related to the percentage of body fat are part of physical activity limitation. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between somatic type of the body and spinal curvatures in school children. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study included 94 randomly selected children from 1-3 elementary schools grades, 49 girls and 45 boys. The subjects were divided into 3 groups: a group of children with a BMI indicating underweight (BMI <14.5, n=25), a group of children with normal BMI (BMI = 14.5-17.5, n = 33) and children BMI indicating overweight (BMI > 17.5, n = 36). The Posturometr-S was a device used for measurement and evaluation of the formation of the spine in the sagittal plane. There were three angles of inclination of anterior-posterior curvature of the spine identified: the α angle-upper thoracic spine, the β angle-thoraco-lumbar spine and the γ angle-lumbosacral spine. RESULTS Analysing the results of the different angles of curvature of the spine in the sagittal plane we can notice a statistically significant difference between the groups only in the a angle. CONCLUSION The own investigations have showed that the somatic type of the body does not affect the shape of the spine in school children assessed using Posturometr-S. Ther investigations are needed.