Assessment of Spinal Alignment among Physiotherapist Students with Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background Primary dysmenorrhea, a common gynecological condition, may be associated with spinal alignment alterations in young females. Purpose To assess and compare spinal alignment parameters among physiotherapist students with different primary dysmenorrhea severity.Subjects and Methods: Thirty female undergraduate physiotherapy students with dysmenorrhea from Delta University for Science and Technology were recruited and assigned to three groups (mild, moderate, and severe groups), based on the WaLIDD scale scores. Spinal alignment parameters, including thoracic curvature angle, lumbar curvature angle, sacral/hip angle, and trunk inclination angle, were measured from the sagittal plane in upright position, maximum flexion position (MFP), and maximum extension position (MEP) using the spinal mouse device.Results :Thoracic and lumbar curvature angles did not differ significantly among the three groups across all positions (p>0.05). However, the sacral/hip angle differed significantly between the mild and severe groups during the MFP (p<0.05), and the trunk inclination angle differed significantly between the mild and severe groups in both the MFP and MEP (p<0.05). Conclusion :Dysmenorrhea severity did not generally affect thoracic and lumbar curvature angles. However, significant differences were observed between the mild and severe groups concerning the sacral/hip angle during the MFP measurements, and the trunk inclination angle in both the MFP and MEP measurements.