Padrão postural de idosos e fatores associados: uma análise por avaliação antropométrica e fotogrametria

Abstract

Introduction: The human aging process involves several changes in various body systems, triggering a gradual decline in functional capacity, mainly by affecting the physiological system and/or the musculoskeletal system. Health professionals have used physical assessment, which includes anthropometric measurements, body morphology such as fat percentage, somatotype and level of physical fitness, and postural assessment. Early identification of postural changes and their causes can promote prevention and intervention programs, generally through targeted physical exercise, in order to correct possible deviations and strengthen the musculoskeletal system to maintain posture and body balance without changes. Objective: This descriptive, observational and inferential study aimed to verify the postural pattern of elderly participants in the PIFPS and a possible association between the variables body posture and health conditions. Method: Of the active students of the Idosos Feliz Participa Sempre Program, 199 individuals met the inclusion criteria and underwent an evaluation containing a sociodemographic questionnaire, anthropometric physical evaluation, body composition evaluation by Bioimpedance, physical fitness level and Postural Assessment. Results: Regarding postural changes, all those evaluated presented some type of change; regarding the segment, where the most significant was the change in the shoulders, with 93.7% for females and 90.2% for males, and knees with Genuvalgum in 30.32% of cases in females. Regarding the type of deviation, a greater emphasis was observed in the spine, with hyperkyphosis (16.77% for females and 16.28% for males), a characteristic found in the literature related to aging, changes in the cervical (28.39 for females and 37.21% for males). Regarding anthropometry, the predominance of the endomorphic mesomorphic somatotype, overweight BMI and fat percentage as obesity for the female population stand out. In the analysis of association with the level of physical activity, it is observed that individuals with abdominal protrusion take longer to perform the Time up and Go (TUG) test than the others.. Conclusion: The results of this study confirm that aging favors the emergence of postural changes, even in a group that practices physical activity and also shows that, among the elderly of PIFPS, body composition did not interfere directly in posture, but rather in the level of physical conditioning. Considering that this study allowed us to get to know these communities and the way of life of the oldest old, we have the responsibility to forward the knowledge to the public agendas of the municipality so that new policies can be instituted in favor of this population segment. This makes it possible to investigate new hypotheses, in a new study, to identify which factor or factors stimulate postural changes.