THE EFFECTS OF VARIOUS HEEL SLOPES ON LUMBOSACRAL BIOMECHANICAL ANGLES IN STUDENTS WITH HYPER LORDOSIS

Abstract

Posture disorders in school-age children are highly frequent. Poor movement and lack of physical mobility are the main causes of physical weaknesses. Thus, corrective exercises with the aim of solving these problems are significant. The aim of this study was an evaluation of the effects of various heel slopes on lumbosacral biomechanical angles in students with hyperlordosis. In this quasi-experimental study, 15 female students who were di- agnosed with hyperlordosis, participated in this study. They were divided into 3 groups (n=5) and performed corrective exercises on +3.7°, 0°, and -3.7° slopes for 8 weeks, 3 times a week. The changes in the lumbar lordosis angle (LLA), sacral based angle (SBA), and lumbosacral angle (LSA) were determined. Data were analyzed by SPSS 18 software using non-parametric test followed by the Krus- cal-wallis test. P<0.05 was considered significant. The results indicated no significant difference regarding the changes in LLA, SBA, and LSA in students with hyperlordosis (p>0.05) de- spite the decrease in the means of the angles in all groups. The results showed that by increasing the heel slope, the lumbo - sacral slope decreases also the lumbosacral angle decreases by decreasing the heel slope, this may indicate an association between these angles.The findings can help parents choose more appropriate shoes for their children to both prevent the incidence of posture dis- orders during childhood and spinal disorders in adulthood.