Abstract

Background. Maintenance of correct body posture requires, among other factors, efficient functioning of the mecha­nism regulating equilibrium of the body, whereas incorrect structure of the body, e.g. in patients with scoliosis, changes conditions of balancing the body thus affecting the function of postural control mechanisms. This study was undertaken to find out when and in what way the regulation of posture begins to be less effective and whether a low degree scoliosis is a cause of negative changes in this area.Material and methods. 138 children, aged from 7 to 15 years were selected for the study. The main group consisted of 88 subjects – children with low degree scoliosis. 50 children without any postural problems constituted the control group. Photogram­metry and stabilometric measurements were carried out simultaneously with the subjects’ eyes open and closed in order to evaluate posture parameters and the projection and pathway of the center of gravity (COG) of the human body.Results. Such factors as scoliosis and gender do not affect COG projection on the X axis. Evaluation of the differences in COG behavior revealed that the subjects’ age and visual control were significant factors.Conclusions. In children and teenagers with scoliosis, the behavior and the position of the COG projection does not change significantly compared to children and teenagers without scoliosis. Effectiveness of the mechanisms regulating body posture improve with age and in children and teenagers with low degree scoliosis these processes are not significantly disturbed.

Key words:

body posture, low degree scoliosis, Photogrammetry, stabilography, equilibrium reactions