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Analysis of body posture in children with mild to moderate asthma

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Abstract

The mechanical alterations related to the excessive use of accessory respiratory muscles and the mouth breathing observed in children with asthma may lead to the development of alterations in head posture, shoulders, thoracic region and, consequently, in alterations of body posture. The purpose of this study was to assess body posture changes of children with asthma compared to a non-asthmatic control group matched for gender, age, weight, and height. Thirty children with asthma and 30 non-asthmatic children aged 7 to 12 years were enrolled in this study. Digital photographic records were obtained for analysis of the body posture of the children by computed photogrammetry. The intraclass correlation coefficient and Student’s t test (p < 0.05) were used for statistical analysis. There were no significant differences between groups for the angles analyzed, except for the knee flexor angle. These results demonstrate that children with asthma did not present postural alterations compared to non-asthmatic controls since the only angle for which there was a significant difference between groups showed weak reproducibility. The findings of this study do not support the notion that children with asthma present alterations in body posture.

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Acknowledgment

The authors acknowledge FAPESP (São Paulo State Research Foundation) for financial support to this study (grants #2003/07771-0 and #2005/50167-2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

    Juliana Fernanda Canhadas Belli

  2. Department of Biomechanics, Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Locomotor Apparatus, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (FMRPUSP), Campus Universitário, CEP 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

    Thaís Cristina Chaves, Anamaria Siriani de Oliveira & Débora Bevilaqua Grossi

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  1. Juliana Fernanda Canhadas Belli
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  2. Thaís Cristina Chaves
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  3. Anamaria Siriani de Oliveira
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  4. Débora Bevilaqua Grossi
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Correspondence to Débora Bevilaqua Grossi.

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Belli, J.F.C., Chaves, T.C., de Oliveira, A.S. et al. Analysis of body posture in children with mild to moderate asthma. Eur J Pediatr 168, 1207–1216 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-008-0911-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-008-0911-y

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