THE INCIDENCE OF SPINAL POSTURAL DISORDERS IN FIRST-GRADE ELEMENTARY-SCHOOL STUDENTS

The aim of this study is to determine the state of postural disorders in the sagittal and frontal planes of the spinal column, as well as any gender differences in first-year elementary school students. The participant sample comprised 138 school children, 73 male and 56 female participants, all from the territory of the municipality of Knjaževac, Serbia. The measuring instrument, the Formetric 4D System, Diers, Germany was used for the assessment of postural disorders of the spinal column. The testing results were presented in terms of frequencies and percentages, while the chi-square independence test was used to determine differences in spinal deformity incidence between male and female participants. The results obtained indicate that, in the sagittal plane, deformity was present in a total of 73.9% of the sample (72.6% among the male and 75.4% among the female participants), whereas in the frontal plane this percentage amounted to 84.1% (84.9% among the male, and 83.1% among the female ones). Moreover, the results indicate that no statistically significant differences were found in terms of the incidence of postural disorders between male and female participants in the sagittal plane (sig=0.859) and in the frontal plane of the spinal column (sig=0.949). In view of the results obtained, it can be concluded that a high incidence of spinal postural disorders in both the frontal and sagittal planes was equally present in participants of both genders.