Indicators of body asymmetry in relation to the prevention of scoliosis in first graders

Purpose: the purpose of the study was to increase the validity of the indicator of asymmetry in the frontal plane of the body in relation to the prevention of scoliosis in first graders.

Material & Methods: thirty-four students aged six to seven years – 18 boys (with body length and weight M±SD=118,9±2.1 cm; 21,6±1,1 kg) and 16 girls (118,2±1,8 cm, 21,2±0,9 kg) were randomly divided into the main group and the comparison group. In addition to standard physical education lessons, students of the main group completed a program of physical rehabilitation in order to prevent the development of posture asymmetry. At the beginning (September) and the end of the academic year (May), the students were measuring the curvature of the spine in the frontal plane according to the Moshkov test and bending to the sides.

Results: in addition to the well-known model of the Moshkov rhombus, the asymmetry of the students’ bodies was determined using an improved indicator equal to half the sum of the absolute values of the differences in the lengths of the upper and lower sides of the Moshkov rhombus. There was no statistically significant difference between the boys, both according to the results of the Moshkov test (δ=0,3%; p=0,512), and according to the results of bending to the sides (δ=1,4%; р=0,379). At the beginning of the academic year, the value of the asymmetry indicator in the main group was practically equal to the corresponding value in the comparison group (δ=2,2%; р=0,815). At the end of the academic year, the value of the indicator in the main group was significantly less than its value in the comparison group. (δ=32,8%; р=0,031).

Conclusions: the indicator of asymmetry in the frontal plane of the body proposed in this work, due to taking into account the magnitude of the curvature of both the upper and lower parts of the spine, made it possible to obtain a significantly higher validity (p=0,02) compared to the well-known indicator of the Moshkov rhombus, which in one parts of the spine – upper or lower (р=0,05).