# Shape of the Sagittal Curvatures of the Spine in Young Female Volleyball Players
## 4 Discussion  
In our study, in terms of values of angle determining the lumbar lordosis, there are differences between girls practicing volleyball and their nonpractising peers. Volleyball players are characterized by smaller lumbar lordosis curvature. Moreover, practicing volleyball determined the prevalence of lumbar lordosis normalities. Volleyball players less often have correct lumbar lordosis. Similar results were obtained by [PERSON] [7], who analyzed the shape of anteroposterior spine curvatures in 14-16-year-old boys practicing volleyball compared to their non-training peers. In terms of volleyball, adolescent males demonstrated a lower degree of lordosis than those not training. The compensation coefficient showed that thoracic kyphosis was bigger than lumbar lordosis. No significant differences were observed regarding the angle of thoracic kyphosis in the volleyball players and non-training subjects. Authors suggest that flattened lumbar lordosis may also be connected with retroversion of the pelvis because of enhanced trained abdomen and gluteus muscle activation. In turn, [PERSON] et al. [29] and [PERSON] et al. [30] mentioned that the stiffness of the lower lumbar segments and limitations of spinal joint mobility may influence the depth of the lumbar lordosis. The outcomes of our study and analysis of the available literature are thought-provoking. A shallowing of the lumbar lordosis reduces the cushioning function of the spine. This is a cause for concern, as training and match play include elements such as attacking, playing, and blocking the ball thrown by the opponent, which require multiple repetitive jumps, which, with the limited cushioning capacity of the spine, may predispose to overloading of the lower part of the spine. These abnormalities can contribute to disturbances in the entire kinematic chain and be a risk factor for injury during training or play. [PERSON] et al. [13] also pointed out that playing volleyball poses a risk of musculoskeletal strain. The authors pointed out that postural abnormalities in athletes are often a consequence of mistakes at the initial stage of training, with the most common being a warm-up that is too short and inadequate for the effort involved and a lack of exercises to form the habit of correct posture. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to a holistic approach to player training. Exercises that strengthen the muscles that stabilize the lumbar spine, fascial training, pelvic anterior tilt training, and spinal mobility facilitation in the volleyball training course can be an important part of the prophylaxis of musculoskeletal abnormalities. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{1}{c}{\multirow{2}{*}{**Type of Body Posture**}} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**Study Group**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**Control Group**} \\ \cline{3-4}  & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(n\) (\%)} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(n\) (\%)} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(n\) (\%)} \\ \hline Balanced & 9 (30.00) & 15 (50.00) \\ \hline Kyphotic & 21 (70.00) & 15 (50.00) \\ \hline Lordotic & 0 (0.00) & 0 (0.00) \\ \hline Chi-square test & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(\chi^{2}(1)=2.50;p=0.114\)} \\ \hline Balanced & B I & 5 (56.00) & 9 (60.00) \\ \cline{2-4}  & B II & 1 (11.00) & 4 (27.00) \\ \cline{2-4}  & B III & 3 (33.00) & 2 (13.00) \\ \hline Chi-square test & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(\chi^{2}(2)=1.75;p=0.416\)} \\ \hline Kyphotic & K I & 9 (43.00) & 4 (27.00) \\ \cline{2-4}  & K II & 10 (48.00) & 6 (40.00) \\ \cline{2-4}  & K III & 2 (9.00) & 5 (33.00) \\ \hline Chi-square test & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(\chi^{2}(2)=3.30;p=0.192\)} \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} \(n\)—number of subjects; %—percent of subjects; \(\chi^{2}\)—value of the Chi-square test statistic; \(p\)—probability value.  
\end{table} 
Table 4: Prevalence of body posture types and subtypes depending on group. Results of our research indicate that practicing volleyball determines the frequency of correctness in the thoracic kyphosis curvature. For volleyball players, normal values of this variable were found more often.