ABSTRACT
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate the posture and body balance of students with and without oral breathing, as well as to verify whether there is a correlation between the values obtained in this evaluation and those of the analysis of sensory systems.
Methods
The research was conducted with school children aged 8 to 12 years. The sample was subdivided into two study groups: schoolchildren with oral breathing and school children without oral breathing (control). The division of the groups was determined on the basis of pre-established criteria investigated in the anamnesis, hearing evaluation, and assessment of the stomatognathic system. The schoolchildren from both groups were submitted to postural evaluation using the Postural Assessment Software (SAPO) on the right and left lateral views and the Foam-laser Dynamic Posturography test.
Results
In the assessment of posture, a statistically significant difference was found only in the knee angle on the left lateral view. With regards to the Dynamic Posturography, there was a statistically significant difference in the values obtained in the six tests of sensory organization (TOS). There was a moderate correlation between the position of the head on the left lateral view and the sensory systems.
Conclusions
Schoolchildren with oral breathing present postural changes compared with those without oral breathing, mainly regarding the positioning of the knee. The body balance in the group of schoolchildren with oral breathing showed greater impairment compared with that in the group of schoolchildren without oral breathing. There is a correlation between the cephalic position and the different sensory systems.
Keywords
Posture; Postural Balance; Proprioception; Vestibular System; Children and Oral Respiration
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