The influence of generalized joint hypermobility on the sagittal profile of the spine in children aged 10-13 years.

BACKGROUND Children commonly attend exercise programs to correct abnormal sagittal curvatures of the spine. The presence of generalized joint hypermobility (JH) is often disregarded during exercise planning. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of JH on the sagittal curvatures of the spine. MATERIAL AND METHODS The JH group included 38 girls and 37 boys aged 10-13 years with known JH (Beighton test cut-off ≥ 5 points for girls, and ≥ 4 for boys). A control group included 197 girls and 150 boys. The children were matched for age, height, weight and BMI. The sacral slope (SS), lumbar lordosis (LL), thoracic kyphosis (TK), distal thoracic kyphosis (DK), and proximal thoracic kyphosis (PK) were assessed with a Saunders inclinometer. The results in children with and without JH were compared. RESULTS There were no significant (p>0.05) differences between girls with and without JH with respect to SS (22.5° ± 9.9 vs 23.0° ± 8.0), LL (31.0° ± 14.0 vs 33.0° ± 10.0), TK (39.0° ± 10.4 vs 39.6° ± 10.0), DK (8.7° ± 6.9 vs 7.9° ± 7.8) or PK (31.3° ± 7.1 vs 32.3° ± 7.3). The differences among boys were similarly non-significant (p>0.05) (19.0° ± 7.9 vs 19.7° ± 6.6; 30.6° ± 9.0 vs 31.9° ± 8.4; 42.7° ± 8.0 vs 40.6° ± 8.7; 9.7° ± 7.9 vs 8.2° ± 7.8; 33.7° ± 5,0 vs 32.8° ± 7.0, for SS, LL, TK, DK and PK, respectively). CONCLUSIONS 1. The sagittal profile of the spine did not differ between children with and without JH, which may lead to suboptimal exercise plans. 2. The routine examination of the musculoskeletal system should be extended to include an assessment of JH.