Postural education and behavior among students in a city in southern Brazil: student postural education and behavior.
[Purpose] The aim of the present study was to assess the knowledge of the spine and posture among adolescent female students and to determine if they had access to postural education in or outside school. [Subjects and Methods] This was an epidemiological survey of a representative sample of 495 female students aged 14 to 18 years attending a regular secondary school in São Leopoldo, RS, Brazil. Data were collected through a questionnaire. [Results] The results showed that 16.8% of teens did not know what a spine was, 8.3% had no knowledge of posture, and 61% reported receiving no posture education. Posture awareness was associated only with posture while using a computer, while having postural education class was not associated with any postural behavior. [Conclusion] The results showed that, although most students are familiar with the spine and posture, a sizable group is not, and over half had no postural education. These findings suggest that inclusion of postural education programs in schools should be encouraged in order to promote health and prevent diseases related to the spine.
Physiatry and Rehabilitation Service of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Postgraduation Program in Medicine: Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil.
Cíntia Detsch
CD
Fonseca
Physiatry and Rehabilitation Service of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Postgraduation Program in Medicine: Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil.
Antônio
A
Cardoso Dos Santos
School of Physical Education, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Graduate Program in Human Movement Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil.
Cláudia Tarragô
CT
Candotti
Instituto Federal Goiano, Campus Ceres, Brazil.
Matias
M
Noll
Postgraduation Program in Nursing, Superior School of Health, University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), Brazil.
Anna Maria Hecker
AM
Luz
Graduate Program in Medicine, Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil.
Carlos Otávio
CO
Corso
Adolescent health; Posture; School health