The effect of No bag school method on the lordosis and kyphosis angles of boy elementary students in Tehran: A three-year longitudinal study

Poster Presentation
Paper ID : 2180-SSRC
Authors
1دانشگاه شهید بهشتی
2تهران- دانشگاه شهید بهشتی
Abstract
Background: Carrying heavy bags and backpacks is one of the causes of musculoskeletal disorders in students. For this reason, some schools operate as “No bag school” and have banned carrying bags and backpacks. But so far, no study has examined the effectiveness of this approach on the spine condition. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of not carrying backpacks on the changes of spinal curves in students during three years.

Thirty-eight boy students (age at start of study: 10.5 ± 1.5) from one of the No bag school elementary schools in Tehran were evaluated prospectively. The angles of lordosis and kyphosis of the subjects from vertebra C7 to S2 were measured using the spinal mouse device made by Idiag company in three consecutive years (1400, 1401 and 1402) in October. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine the changes of spinal curves during three years.

The results showed that the kyphosis angle of the students in the first year (40.42 ± 8.50) did not show a significant change with the second (39.92 ± 7.65) and third years (38.32 ± 8.07) (f=1.826, p= 0.173). Also, these results did not show a significant difference for the lordosis angle of the students in the first year (-20.92 ± 8.26) with the second (-20.82 ± 6.73) and third years (-20.87 ± 5.59) (f= 0.005, p= 0.991).

According to the results of the present study, not using backpacks brings more health for students in maintaining the natural alignment of the spine. Therefore, applying the method of not carrying backpacks in other schools of Tehran province is also recommended.
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