OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between behavioral risk factors, specifically postural habits, with the presence of structural changes in the spinal column of children and adolescents. METHODS: 59 students were evaluated through the self-reporting Back Pain and Body Posture Evaluation Instrument and spinal panoramic radiographic examination. Spine curvatures were classified based on Cobb angles, as normal or altered in the saggital plane and as normal or scoliotic in the frontal plane. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0, based on descriptive statistics and chi-square association test (a=0,05). RESULTS: The prevalence of postural changes was 79.7% (n=47), of which 47.5% (n=28) showed frontal plane changes and 61% (n=36) sagital plane changes. Significant association was found between the presence of thoracic kyphosis and female gender, practice of physical exercises only once or twice a week, sleep time greater than 10 hours, inadequate postures when sitting on a seat and sitting down to write, and how school supplies are carried. Lumbar lordosis was associated with the inadequate way of carrying the school backpack (asymmetric); and scoliosis was associated wuth the practice of competitive sports and sleep time greater than 10 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Lifestyle may be associated with postural changes. It is important to develop health policies in order to reduce the prevalence of postural changes, by decreasing the associated risk factors.

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Introduction: The early evaluation of the spine in children is desirable because it is at this stage of development that the greatest changes in the body structures occur. Objective: To determine the test-retest, intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Flexicurve instrument for the evaluation of spinal curvatures in children. Method: Forty children ranging from 5 to 15 years of age were evaluated by two independent evaluators using the Flexicurve to model the spine. The agreement was evaluated using Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC), Standard Error of the Measurement (SEM), and Minimal Detectable Change (MDC). Results: In relation to thoracic kyphosis, the Flexicurve was shown to have excellent correlation in terms of test-retest reliability (ICC2,2=0.87) and moderate correlation in terms of intra-(ICC2,2=0.68) and inter-rater reliability (ICC2,2=0.72). In relation to lumbar lordosis, it was shown to have moderate correlation in terms of test-retest reliability (ICC2,2=0.66) and intra- (ICC2,2=0.50) and inter-rater reliability (ICC=0.56). Conclusion: This evaluation of the reliability of the Flexicurve allows its use in school screening. However, to monitor spinal curvatures in the sagittal plane in children, complementary clinical measures are necessary. Further studies are required to investigate the concurrent validity of the instrument in order to identify its diagnostic capacity.

RESUMO O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a validade concorrente, a repetibilidade e a reprodutibilidade interavaliador do sistema Vert 3D na avaliação das curvaturas torácica e lombar de crianças com diferentes perfis nutricionais. Participaram 115 crianças, divididas em três grupos: baixo peso e eutróficos, sobrepeso e obesos. Cada criança fez uma radiografia panorâmica da coluna vertebral na incidência perfil direito, de onde foram obtidos os ângulos de Cobb de cifose torácica e lordose lombar. Além disso, cada participante foi avaliada com o sistema de topografia Vert 3D cinco vezes no mesmo dia, imediatamente após a avaliação radiológica. As avaliações foram realizadas por três avaliadores independentes e forneceram os ângulos Vert de cifose torácica e lordose lombar. No software SPSS os dados foram submetidos ao Coeficiente de Correlação Produto-momento de Pearson, Coeficiente de Correlação Intraclasse, teste t pareado e ANOVA one-way. O sistema Vert 3D apresentou excelentes níveis de repetibilidade e reprodutibilidade interavaliador, independente do perfil nutricional avaliado, para os ângulos de cifose torácica e lordose lombar, mas apresentou correlação fraca com o ângulo de Cobb para cifose torácica e moderada para lordose lombar. Esses resultados sinalizam que esse sistema pode ser utilizado no acompanhamento clínico de alterações posturais da coluna vertebral no plano sagital de crianças de todos os perfis nutricionais, mas não pode ser utilizado como forma de diagnóstico ou com o objetivo de estimar o ângulo de Cobb.

Introduction: The Vert-3D is a radiation-free system which offers a three-dimensional view of the back's surface, providing a quantitative assessment of spinal curvatures. Objective: To verify the repeatability, inter-rater reproducibility, and correlation between Cobb angles and the results of the Vert-3D system version 1 in the evaluation of the front curvatures of the spine in children with different nutritional profiles. Methods: The sample was composed of 115 children who underwent posterior-anterior panoramic digital radiography of the spine and five evaluations with the Vert-3D system by three trained raters. Results: Version 1 of the Vert-3D system showed: (1) significant and moderate correlations of repeatability for arrows on the left (ICC between .54 to .83) and significant and moderate correlations for arrows on the right (ICC between .55 to .60) for only normal BMI; (2) significant correlations of inter-rater reproducibility for left arrows (ICC between .47 to .65), weak to moderate correlations for right arrows (ICC between .29 to .60), and no significance for obese samples; and (3) significant correlations ranging between .31 and .60 on the left side and non-significant correlations to the right side between Cobb angles and