Carrying angle of the elbow among Ukwuani children in South-South Nigeria

The obliquity of the ulnar shaft to the trochlea notch which fits the trochlea and the tilted inferior sharp ridge of the medial trochlea of the humerus are the cause of the carrying angle. This study was undertaken to determine the normal carrying angle of the elbow joint among Ukwuani children in the South-South Nigeria. It involves Ukwuani children in primary and secondary schoolsin Ukwuani Local Government Area, Delta State, South-South Nigeria. The sample had 427 males and 429 females subdivided into 6-11 years old, 12-14 years old and 15-17 years old, using the stratified random sampling technique.The carrying angle of the elbow joint was measured in degrees using the digital goniometer while body height was measured in centimetres using anthropometer. The SPSS 20 was used for the data analysis.The statistics used were the t-test, Pearson's correlation and the one-way analysis of variance. The statistical significance was fixed at p<0.05. The carrying angle in females was significantly greater than in males in all the age groups. Carrying angle on the right was significantly greater than on the left in all the age groups. The carrying angle at 12-14 years and 15-17 years were significantly greater than in 6-11 years on both sides, but there wasno significant difference between the carrying angle at 12-14 years and 15-17 years. Correlation between height and carrying on both sides showed varied outcomes in all the age groups. The findings will be useful to the Physical anthropologists and the clinicians.

Key Words: Age, Carrying angle, Children, Elbow, Height