Age related changes in cervical range of motion and its relationship with cervical spondylosis in school students aged 12-18 in Nanyang City / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To investigate the age related changes in cervical range of motion (CROM) and its relationship with cervical spondylosis in school students aged 12-18 in Nanyang City, to provide reference for prevention, early diagnosis and treatment evaluation of cervical spondylosis.@*Methods@#Stratified sampling was adopted in 13 counties and districts of Nanyang City and 890 students aged 12-18 were assessed for CROM using the Coda Motion Analyzer. SPSS 19.0 was used to data analyze.@*Results@#A decreasing trend was observed in CROM among boys and girls aged 12-18 years in Nanyang. For boys aged 15 and 18 years old, higher anterior flexion ( t =2.02, 2.70), posterior extension ( t =2.01, 2.81), left flexion ( t =3.51, 2.99), right flexion ( t =5.07, 2.66), sinistral ( t =2.28, 2.92) and dextral ( t =2.91,3.60) were found compared with younger age groups ( P <0.05). Similar findings were found in girls aged 15 and 18-years old [anterior flexion ( t =2.38, 2.20), posterior extension ( t =2.09,2.02), left flexion ( t =2.33, 2.55), right flexion ( t =7.34, 4.60), sinistral ( t =3.73, 2.35) and dextral ( t =2.31, 3.99, P <0.05). Except for the right flexion, the CROM of boys in was higher than that of girls at the same age group. The prevalence of cervical spondylosis showed an increasing trend (boys χ 2 trend =13.93, girls χ 2 trend =12.87, P <0.05). Except for 14-year-old group, the prevalence of cervical spondylosis in girls was higher than that in boys, with significant differences observed in 15 and 17-year-old groups ( χ 2=10.35, 9.64, P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#With the increase of age, the CROM of male and female students shows a downward trend in general. The prevalence of cervical spondylosis increases with the decrease of CROM. CROM measurement is conducive to the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of juvenile cervical spondylosis.