Abstract
The aim of our study was to analyze the results of Adam's forward bend test of asymetry of paravertebral muscles in primary school children. Our intention was to identify the main parameters of growth and development which can predict the Adam's angle.
To reach this goal, we have sampled 270 boys and 270 girls ageing six to fourteen years. These probands were the pupils of primary schools in the Litoměřice region of the Central Bohemia, Czech Republic.
The gathered data include Adam's angle, body height, body weight, computed BMI, age and sex. In our sample set, we have found the positive Adam's angle, higher than five degrees, in 27 samples (5,0 %).
This number is slightly higher than previously reported data from the Czech children population. By linear regression analysis we have pinpointed the increasing age and body height as the main predictors for positive Adam's angle in our data set.
Positive Adam's angle was also found more frequently in girls then in boys, the ratio was 2,4 : 1. Body height, body weight and BMI from our data set were compared to these of the 6.
National Anthropological Survey of Children and Youth from 2001. We didn't find the two data sets statistically different.
Therefore our data can confirm the fading of secular trend in Czech children. Adam's forward bend test is a fast and straightforward screening method, which can detect scoliotic deformity of the spine.