Clinical Kinesiology and Posturology Applied to a Group of Italian Students. A Morphological Observational Study.

The percentage of children who develop postural deviations during their teens is constantly growing. Many hours of study in a sitting position, poor physical activity, and inadequate information become crucial factors leading to a wrong posture. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of untreated structural alterations, ascribed to incorrect posture (paramorphisms or dysmorphisms), in the adolescent growth phase of students at high school. The anthropometric and postural analyses of a sample of adolescents allowed the correct evaluation of their structural situation in order to establish the presence of conditions different from an ideal posture. The presence of scoliotic deviations was ascertained in 36% of students. Almost half of the students showed a non-physiological curve of the cervical and lumbar spine. A consistent part of examined students showed a non-physiological condition of shoulders (28%), scapulas (>50%), pelvis (≈50%), and hips (36.25%). A prominent malleolus was observed in 17.5% of students; 6.25% had an asymmetry between the ankles; and 18.75% had a foot deformity. If we consider that 65% of students showed a non-physiological musculoskeletal condition, we can consequently hypothesize that during the primary and middle school no one bothered to correct these children under the postural profile. The lack of postural education in the Italian school system should be addressed, in order to prevent postural defects that, if detected in time, can still be re-educated