Avaliação da postura e distribuição da pressão plantar e os efeitos da orientação para o exercício em crianças e adolescentes com fibrose cística

Abstract

Objectives : To evaluate possible postural changes and the distribution of plantar pressures in patients with CF. Furthermore, were sought to evaluate the effects of an educational guideline for physical activity in children and adolescents with CF. Method : This study was divided into two phases, being held in a CF center with children and adolescents between seven and 20 years. The first phase is a cross-sectional study in which healthy subjects were selected in order to obtain a normality pattern for postural assessment and baropodometry, aiming to later comparison with patients CF. In the second phase, we performed a randomized controlled clinical trial to access the influence of the exercise guideline on the postural alterations seen in the results of phase I. Patients were assigned to two groups, 17 in the control group (G1) and 17 in the intervention group (G2). The intervention evaluated consisted of a manual with instructions for aerobic exercise and stretching. Data was analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and the student t test. The effect size was calculated using the Effect Size Calculator tool, considering a significance level of 5%. Results : In phase I, thirty four patients with CF were included in the study with a mean age of 12.6±2.9 years and twenty of them were boys (58.8%). Thirty four healthy children with a mean age of 12.8±3.3 years were selected and paired to the CF patients. No significant baseline differences between groups were identified, as expected. CF children presented more postural deviations compared to healthy subjects. Significant differences were observed as to alignment of the head (p=0.001), shoulder girdle (p=0.015) and pelvis (p=0.001), as well as increased cervical lordosis (p=0.001) and lateral chest distance (p=0.002). Children with CF also showed higher degrees of thoracic kyphosis, although this difference was not significant (p=0.068). No significant differences were demonstrated in the baropodometry. In phase II (n=34), there were no baseline differences between both intervention and control groups. On the other hand, results demonstrate that the intervention caused a decrease in cervical lordosis (p=0.0003; ES=1.41), thoracic kyphosis (p=0.01; ES=0.89), lumbar lordosis (p=0.05; ES=0.71), lateral chest distance (p=0.01; ES=0.91) and abdominal protrusion (p=0.04; ES=0.75). In the baropodometric evaluation, there were significant differences in the mean pressure (p=0.001; ES=1.25) and in the contact area (p=0.01; ES=1.02). Conclusions : CF children and adolescents present postural changes when compared to healthy individuals. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that the educational guideline for exercise practice helped to improve posture in children and adolescents with CF, preventing the progression of some postural disorders.