Joint position (JPS) and force senses (FS) are the proprioception modalities. While the development of JPS was investigated both in children/adult and athlete/untrained conditions, there is a lack of insight into the development of FS. Overall, 28 gymnasts and 25 untrained controls underwent proprioception testing. They were divided into two groups: 9 to 11-year-old boys (13 gymnasts and 10 non-athletes) and 18 to 25-year-old adults (15 gymnasts and 15 non-athletes). The testing was performed at an isokinetic dynamometer and included elbow JPS and FS (20% and 50% maximal voluntary contraction) tasks. Children had two times higher error in JPS (p < 0.01) and 50% higher errors in FS of both flexor (p < 0.001) and extensor muscles (p < 0.05) in comparison with adults. Only in the 50% maximal voluntary contraction task, gymnasts showed 33% lower error than the controls (p < 0.01). Untrained boys presented 54%, 132%, and 169% higher error for elbow flexor performance than young gymnasts, untrained adults, and adult gymnasts, respectively (p < 0.01). The 9 to 11-year-old participants were characterized by a lower precision of JPS and FS performance in comparison with adults. Gymnastic training can possibly accelerate the development of FS when higher loads are considered.

SummaryStudy aim: The aim of the study was to examine the differences in physical fitness between deaf female soccer players and their deaf peers who did not practise any sport.Material and methods: The research involved 13 deaf female soccer players and 16 deaf untrained girls. Physical fitness was assessed by a jump test and the Eurofit test. In the jump test, each participant performed an akimbo counter-movement jump (ACMJ), a counter-movement jump (CMJ) and a spike jump (SPJ) on a force plate. The following trials of the Eurofit test were performed: flexibility – sit-and-reach; static strength – hand grip; functional strength – bent arm hang (arm and shoulder muscular endurance); explosive strength – standing broad jump; and trunk strength – sit-ups (abdominal muscular endurance).Results: Soccer players jumped significantly higher than untrained females in the ACMJ, CMJ, and SPJ, and developed significantly higher power of the CMJ. Relative power developed in the ACMJ and SPJ did not differ between the examined groups. Soccer players were physically fitter than girls who did not play any sport. Significant differences between the groups were observed for all measured trials except for the bent arm hang.Conclusions: Hearing loss does not significantly determine the physical development or physical fitness of deaf people. Playing sports improves the physical fitness of deaf people in comparison with untrained deaf people.

The First U21 European Deaf Football Championship Men was played in August 2016 in Wroclaw, Poland. No studies have documented or analysed sporting events for deaf players at the elite level. The aim of the study was to bring deaf football closer to the reader and analyse selected offensive actions recorded during the U21 Championship.Analyses were performed on the basis of video recordings from the stadium. Eight national teams participated in the Championship. Sixteen matches were analysed with reference to the number of goals, shots on target, shots missed, crosses, and corners.The mean number of goals scored per match during the U21 Championship was 1.81 ± 1.53. The number of shots on target was 246, with 194 shots missed and 191 corners. The shooting efficiency of the four best teams was: 14.81% for Poland, 14.29% for Turkey, 13.89% for Sweden, and 13.25% for Russia. The highest efficiency of crosses for the best four equalled: 34.57% for Poland, 28.00% for Sweden, 26.22% for Turkey, and 23% for Russia.The winner of the tournament was the team with the highest shooting efficiency and highest efficiency of crosses in all matches. Overall, 15.25% of goals were scored after shooting from outside of the penalty area, 55.17% of goals were scored from outside of the goal area but from the penalty area, whereas 29.58% were scored from the goal area. The analyses of the U21 Championship can be useful for the organization of coaching and preparation of teams for championships.

The workers of the health sector are important to the country’s economy in many ways. Healthy and rested workers are highly valuable to the public health sector and give a good perception of their work to patients and society. It is thus important to have a sufficient number of healthy working staff in healthcare institutions who do not have work fatigue and burnout. A total of 987 employees—doctors, professional staff, and others—of a large healthcare institution in Hungary voluntarily participated in a survey regarding their lifestyle and physical activity habits and answered the questions anonymously. Women reported less leisure time (p < 0.02), with 54.9% of female respondents saying that they did not exercise regularly, and fatigue was more common among them (p < 0.001). In this respect, the healthcare workers’ responses did not differ from those of the overall population. The most common sports were cycling (17.7%), running (15.4%), and working out in a gym (12.3%). Reasons for not participating in sports included lack of time (70.2%) and fatigue (43.9%) as the most frequent responses. Healthcare workers are exposed to a number of risks that require particular attention to maintain their health. Employers should thus focus on implementing programs that prevent burnout and promote healthy lifestyles.

The aim of the study was to identify the situational factors of a game which (a) might affect the victory or defeat in the game; (b) were common for matches played in a tournament for the hearing or deaf, including matches won or lost. The analysis included 37 matches of national deaf teams (5th World Deaf Basketball Championships, Poland) and 92 matches of national hearing teams (18th Basketball World Cup, China). During both tournaments, the matches played were divided into won and lost. We also presented analyses concerning 31 game situational variables related to the performance of national basketball teams at both events. All situational variables were subject to statistical analysis, including calculation of their means and standard deviations, and determination of minimum and maximum. Discriminant analysis was performed, too. The analyses showed no statistically significant differences in almost all game aspects between matches won by deaf and hearing basketball players. Statistically significant differences in situational variables were observed between matches won during the 5th World Deaf Basketball Championships and matches lost during the 18th Basketball World Cup. The discriminant analysis allowed to determine the situational variables that affected the winning or losing of a game: missed shots for 2 or 3 points, free throws, defensive and offensive rebounds, as well as assists, steals, and turnovers. A classification matrix indicated 21 results of direct match competitions achieved by deaf teams (winning and losing), which allowed to qualify these teams as hearing ones in terms of the values of game situational variables. Literature analysis revealed lack of scientific reports on deaf sport.