Scheuermann's disease. Clinical and radiological survey of 17 and 18 year olds

This is a study of the incidence and possible predisposing stress factors of Scheuermann's disease (S.D.). 500, 17 and 18 year old, students from the local larger schools, from one country town school and from the local Teachers' Training College, took part. Each student filled in a questionnaire, underwent a simple spinal examination including a clinical assessment of the available passive hamstring stretch, and had a lateral X-ray of the dorsal and upper lumbar spine. 56.3% of the males and 30.3% of the females had X-ray evidence of previous S.D., in varying degrees of severity. Dynamic stress, such as playing sports involving a lot of potential compression stress, weight lifting, and heavy lifting work in spare time and holidays, seem to play little if any part in the pathogenesis of S.D. Tall males and males who had spent more than 2 weeks in bed, due to sickness or injury, were more prone to S.D. Hamstring tightness showed a significant relationship to X-ray evidence for males. In the absence of possible dynamic stress factors it is suggested that prolonged sitting may be an important factor in the pathogenesis of end plate breakdown and thus S.D.