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PREVALENCE OF SPINAL AND POSTURAL DEFORMITIES IN GOVERNMENT VS PRIVATE PRIMARY SCHOOLS CHILDREN OF MULTAN: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Muhammad Ahmad, Samraiz Mughal, Ujala Bashir, Aqsa Noreen, Mahnoor Liaqat, Mehreen Jabbar, Rafia Imtiaz,

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Abstract

Background: Children's health problems, especially those involving spinal and postural malformations, are frequent, especially in school-age children. These malformations can result in various issues, including back discomfort, breathing problems, and decreased mobility, all of which can significantly lower the quality of life for those affected. With a population of more than 1.8 million, Multan is a city in Pakistan's Punjab province. And we ought to know about health of our children.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of spinal and postural deformities in government vs private primary schools children of Multan.

Methodology: This is a cross-sectional observational study and its duration was 06 months. A sample size of 324 was taken in this study and sampling technique was simple random sampling through digital randomizer. A “Self-Administrated Questionnaire” was used to fill data and all children were examined through Forward Adam Bend Test, Plumb Line Method to assess their posture and spinal deformities. The data was taken from different govt and private primary schools of Multan. SPSS 20.0 is used to analyze the results.

Results: Out of a total population of 162 Govt. schools’ children, 132(81.5%) were male, Meanwhile, 30(18.5%) children were female. Of private school children, out of 162 children, 80(49.4%) were male; 82(52.6%) children were female. The prevalence of spinal deformities in govt. primary schools is 6.8% and 8.6% in private primary schools. while the prevalence of abnormal spinal posture is 20.4% in govt schools and 35.2% in private primary schools.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that the prevalence of abnormal spinal deformities in both types of schools is relatively low, with a slightly higher prevalence in private primary schools. However, the prevalence of abnormal spinal posture is higher in both types of schools, particularly in private primary schools. One down shoulder is the most common posture abnormality in both type of schools.

Keywords: Prevalence, Spinal deformities, Postural deformities, Government primary schools, Private primary schools, Children, Multan