postural screening program. background the massachusetts department of public health has promoted...
TRANSCRIPT
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Postural Screening Program
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Background
• The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has promoted postural screening in schools since 1971
• In 1980, regulation changes required all school systems to begin providing screenings in grades5-9– Covers the years in which adolescents experience the
most rapid growth, and in which signs of curvature most often appear
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Program Goal• Designed to detect possible early signs of spinal
problems that require further medical evaluation– Scoliosis (lateral curvature)– Kyphosis (front to back curvature)
• The Postural Screening program is intended as a supplement to primary health care– It does not provide a medical diagnosis
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Postural Defects• Scoliosis refers to a curvature of the spine• Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIP) is the most common type
– First signs often appear in early adolescence– Generally painless and may go unnoticed– Causes unknown; thought to be multifactorial (age, gender, genetics)
• Poor posture does not cause scoliosis/kyphosis or affect the progress of the curve
• In most cases, the curvature is mild and does not progress. Treatment will most likely include:– careful monitoring by a physician – exercises
• Severe curvature may require treatment with a brace or surgery• If severe curvatures are untreated, may result in the following:
– physical deformity– arthritic symptoms– heart and lung disorders– mobility issues
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Screening Process• Initial screenings will be conducted by the Physical Education staff
– Location: Girls and Boys High School locker rooms– Girls and boys screened separately– Students screened by staff of same gender– Screened individually in private– Observation ONLY– Clothing considerations:
• Girls should wear a bathing suit top or athletic bra• Boys will remove shirt
• Students with positive findings will be referred to the nurse for a second screening
• May recommend further medical evaluation– Parent/guardian notified– Does not mean the student has scoliosis– Screening is not intended to diagnose; designed to detect possible early signs
of spinal problems
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Postural Observation
• During the screening, posture is evaluated in 5 views
• Standing position: front, back, side• Adams Forward Bending Test: front, side– Student bends forward until the back is parallel to
the floor (bend to about knee level)• Feet together• Knees straight• Hands together (palm-to-palm)• Head down (tuck chin)
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Evaluation Criteria
• Several things are evaluated:– Head centered over the body– Shoulders/shoulder blades equal– Hips equal– Equal gaps between arms and torso when
standing– Spine straight
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Final Thoughts / Questions
• Don’t be embarrassed– We are not looking at “you”– Compartmentalized evaluation
• Humans are “Perfectly Imperfect”– Positive findings do not necessarily mean there is
a problem– Did you know? The dominant shoulder is typically
lower than the non-dominant• Questions
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ResourcesMassachusetts Department of Public Health. (1996). Postural Screening Manual. Boston, MA.
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/com-health/school/psmanual04.pdf
Northeastern University. (2013). Postural Screening. School Based Screening and ReferralDecision Making. Boston, MA: Denise Lotufo, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCI, CMT. http://neushi.org
Presentation prepared by Jennifer Greiner, RNFebruary 2014