A Study to Assess the Postural Habits and its Association with Socio-Personal variables among students studying in selected schools of Ernakulam District, Kerala

Abstract

Posture is the position in which we hold our bodies while standing, sitting, or lying down. A good posture is important because it helps us stand, walk, sit, and lie in positions that place the least strain on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement and weight-bearing activities. This study was aimed to assess the postural habits and to find its association with socio-personal variables among students studying in selected schools of Ernakulam district, Kerala. A quantitative descriptive analytical design was undertaken for the study. Data was collected from school children by using structured questionnaire. The content validity of the tool was established by experts and the samples consisted of 250 school children who satisfied the inclusion criteria and were selected by using convenience sampling technique. The objectives of the study were to assess the postural habits among school children by a structured questionnaire, to find the association between postural habits and socio-personal variables among school children and to find the correlation between postural habits with height and weight. The selected data was tabulated and analysed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings showed that 9.2% had good postural habits, 66% had fair postural habits and 24.8% had bad postural habits. The results also showed that about 23 students from rural area had good postural habits whereas none of the students from urban area had good postural habits. Almost 152 students from rural area maintained average postural habits and 13 students from urban area had the same. About 47 students from rural area and 15 from urban area had bad postural habits. It concludes that there is a significant association between postural habits and place of residence.