The reliability of smartphone goniometry technology in measuring postural changes in South African female youths carrying head loads

Background: Four empirical studies have measured the impact of head-loading on female African porters posture using expensive radiography and manual kin anthropometry and goniometry. The reliability of cheaper, pragmatic smartphone goniometric technology as an alternate clinical tool to assess posture is needed. Objectives: This study was designed to test the inter-rater reliability of smartphone goniometry technology against manual goniometry in measuring selected sagittal postural angles in South African female youth who habitually head-load. Methods: Female South African youth who habitually headload voluntarily participated in the study (N = 100) and were randomly allocated into experimental (n = 50) and control (n = 50) groups. An observational randomized control design involving a pre-test post-test crossover was used, after which the control group crossed over into the experimental group and vice versa. The control group stood in the unloaded phase without a head load, while the experimental group carried the head load. The daily head loads and body mass were measured on an electronic scale. Demographic characteristics (age, body mass, and stature) were recorded and selected biomechanical angles were measured on the right side. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 12.3 ± 2.5 years; average body mass was 44.5 ± 13.7 kg. The average head load habitually carried was 8.0 ± 2.5 kg. The inter-rater reliability between the smartphone goniometry technology and manual goniometry was 0.9. Conclusion: The findings support the use of smartphone goniometry as a pragmatic method for assessing sagittal plane postural changes among rural South African youth who habitually head-load. Further studies are needed to validate these findings.

A Comparison Between Selected Noncommunicable Disease Mortality Rates Between 2010 and 2016 Among Selected Southern African Countries.

Researchers have identified cancer, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases as being the principal pathologies of increased aged standardized death rates (ASDRs) among noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The objective of this study was to compare the change in the ASDR of these principal NCDs between the years 2010 and 2016 in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. ASDR data were collected from the 2016 Global Health Estimate. Among the selected Southern African countries for both 2010 and 2016, the order of prevalence of NCDs linked to increased ASDR was cardiovascular diseases (both cardiac and stroke), cancer, diabetes mellitus, and chronic respiratory diseases. The percentage of the total number of NCDs linked to increased ASDR in relation to total deaths increased from 43.8% (in 2010) to 51.0% (in 2016) from (p < .0001). The percentage of principal NCDs in relation to total ASDR increased from 33.0% (in 2010) to 38.2% (in 2016; p < .0001).

Impact of poor dental ergonomical practice.

Dentistry is a high risk profession for the development of musculoskeletal disorders as it is characterised by visual demands which require the adoption of static working posture. Headaches and vertebral pain has been positively correlated to poor ergonomic working posture adopted by dentists. The aim of this study was to examine the work posture adopted by dentists in the metropolitan region of Durban and Verulam in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, as well as to report on the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and discomfort experienced by this cohort. A descriptive survey was conducted among 94 dentists, who voluntarily consented to participate in an occupational, epidemiological retrospective study. Subjects' biographical, occupational, epidemiological and exercise history information was collected by using a self-report questionnaire. All dentists in the metropolitan region of Durban and Verulam were contacted telephonically and those volunteering to participate in the study were subsequently interviewed. During the interview, subjects' body mass and stature were measured using a portable Detecto stadiometer scale. Subjects' waist and hip girths were measured using an anthropometric tape measure around their anterior sacro-iliac crest (waist) and their greater trochanter (hip). In addition to collecting the anthropometric data, the dentists completed a self-report questionnaire and informed consent form. Descriptive statistics comprising of mode, mean, frequency, percentages and chi-square tests (with the probability set at 0.05) were employed in the statistical analysis. The results indicated the preference of different work postures and positions adopted by dentists that contributed to the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal pain and discomfort (prevalence of 54.26%). The most prevalent work-related musculoskeletal pain sustained by dentists was the vertebrae (49.32%), wrist (18.75%), shoulder (16.66%) and lower leg (12.5%). The mechanism of the musculoskeletal pain was attributed to the poor ergonomic work posture and work position adopted by dentists in relation to their patients. It is concluded that vertebral musculoskeletal pain is most prevalent among dentists practicing in the metropolitan region of Durban and Verulam.