CORRELATION OF TRUNK MUSCLE STRENGTH WITH AGE IN CHILDREN 5 TO 18 YEARS OLD

Objective: To determine the correlation of trunk muscle strength with age in children and the effect of gender on changes in trunk muscle st rength. Material and Methods: Strength of the back ex-tensors and back flexors was evaluated in 137 healthy boys and 109 healthy girls who w ere 5 to 18 years old. Anthropometric determinations of height and wei ght were done in all study subjects. Maximal back muscle strength was measured with an isometric dynamometer(BID-2000), Standardized positio ning techniques were used to allow comparison with the follow-up evalu ations. Results: Regression analysis revealed significant increases in trunk strength with increasing age; the strength of the boys began di verging from that of the girls at age 9 to 10 years, Back extensor str ength also increased with increasing height and weight, and expected d ifferences were noted between boys and girls, Strength levels ranged f rom 80 to 774 newtons (18 to 174 lb), Mean back extensor strength in 2 -year age intervals ranged from 153 newtons (34.4 lb) in girls 5 to 7 years old to 504 newtons (113.3 lb) in boys 16 to 18 years of age, (Ea ch newton is equal to 0.2248 lb.) Conclusion: Results of this study de monstrated that age, height, and weight are all important predictors o f trunk Strength in children, and the effects of these factors are mod ulated by gender.