Citations
Objective: To investigate the relationship between the curvature of the cervical spine and various clinical parameters and to identify the validity of new curvature measurement methods.
Method: The cervical spine curvature was assessed on lateral view of plain radiographs by three measurement indices. Index 1 is the ratio of length of line drawn by C2-C7 posteroinferior points and the longest length of vertical line to the posterior curve of C2-C7. Index 2 is the angle formed by three points of index 1. Index 3 is the sum of each distance from line drawn by C2-C7 posteroinferior point to C3-C7 posterior mid-points. The difference of each group and the relationship between pain scale and three indices were statistically analyzed by t-test and Pearson's correlation test.
Results: Sixty-three percent of control group patients showed a straight or kyphotic curvature and younger women group was more likely to have a straight curvature than other age groups. The newly designed measurement methods reflect the diagnostic significance of cervical curvature type measurement. Cervical lordosis did not exactly correlate with pain scale, symptom duration and the difference of clinical diagnosis. But the patients showing interval changes of pain scale were revealed the correlative change of curvature indices with each correlation coefficient of 0.43, 0.69 and 0.55 respectively.
Conclusion: The altered cervical curvature is less valuable for the diagnostic significance and did not relate to the pain scale and duration, but cervical curvature reflect the interval change of the pain scale.
Objectives: To evaluate the compatability of high school students' desks and chairs to the fittness of their physique, to examine the factors related the posture and pain while they use the classroom desks and chairs, and to analyze the curvature of spine in sitting position.
Method: Measurements of the dimensions of desks and chairs and a written survey to question students' habits regarding to the usage of classroom desks and chairs along with the physical examinations of spine including the analysis of spine curvature in sitting position with an electrogoniometer.
Results: Seven hundred forty nine among 831 male students, and 1,017 among 1,074 female students, complained of discomforts associated with the usage of classroom desks and chiairs. An examination of spine in sitting position using an electrogoniometer showed that both male and female subjects displayed the spine curvatures in the order of thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, and scoliosis.
All subjects displayed pain in the order of low back(38.8%), posterior neck(23.9%), shoulder and elbow joints(15.8%), and buttock(15.7%).
Conclusion: The study revealed an urgent need for the adaptation of classroom desks and chairs according to the growing physique of the adolescents.
A majority of the teenaged subjects experienced the discomfort from the use of improper funiture and a poor posture. Authors highly recommend a formal education to the students regarding the importance of proper posture and the usage of adjustable desks and chairs.
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