Postural characterization of children between 7 and 8 years of age of Amparo city's municipal schools: quantitative analysis

• Grant number: 05/01850-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2006
• End date: February 29, 2008
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Sílvia Maria Amado João
• Grantee: Sílvia Maria Amado João
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Postural alterations are often found in children. In this stage of development, the posture undergoes many adjustments due to changes of the body. The formation of the body schema, in childhood, occurs through the motor experiences and allows the tonic-postural structure. Many of this stage's postural imbalance can last for the entire adolescence and adult life. Furthermore, during the school years, the child's posture is subjected to many influences, and some alterations may appear due to improper postural habits - as the transportation of heavy school materials and the improper use of school furniture. Therefore, there isn't a database about children's postural alterations. So, the purpose of this study is to characterize children posture between 7 and 8 years of age, in order to get a postural standard. It will be assessed 147 girls and 147 boys, resulting in a sample of 294 subjects. Photos of each child in the sagittal and frontal planes and oblique view will be examined for postural deviations. The weight, height, footprint and flexibility (fingertip-to-floor test) will be measured. The photos will be taken with digital camera Cyber-Shot (DSC - P41) and the quantitative measures will be done with CorelDraw v. 10.0 software. (AU)