Objective: Our aim was to determine the influence of pulmonary rehabilitation conducted in therapeutic salt mine chambers on the functional fitness of older adults. Methods: The study included 22 individuals of age >65 years with chronic respiratory conditions. The patients underwent the Fullerton test before and after a 3-week outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation in the “Wieliczka” Salt Mine Health Resort. Results: After the rehabilitation stay, the results showed statistically significant improvements within five of the six parameters evaluated. In the Arm Curl, the mean number of repetitions within 30 s increased from 14.55 ± 3.63 to 16.68 ± 3.83 and in the Chair Stand from 11.86 ± 2.55 to 14.41 ± 2.95. Beneficial changes were observed in the Back Scratch, but without statistical significance. In Sit and Reach results increased from -2.3 ± 11.11cm to 2.14 ± 9.19 cm. Time for performing the 8-Foot Up and Go decreased from 6.63 ± 1.27 s to 5.8 ± 0.86 s and in 2-Minute Step results increased from 88.27 ± 20.64 to 96.55 ± 16.38 repetitions. Conclusion: Functional fitness of examined older adults with pulmonary disorders has increased after a rehabilitation and treatment stay in underground salt mine chambers. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.

Introduction: The aim of the study is to assess the impact of physiotherapy containing elements of osteopathy on the change of pain level of the lumbar spine of patients in comparison to traditional management using orthopedic manual therapy combined with biofeedback. Material and methods: The study included 60 people qualified for outpatient rehabilitation. Patients were divided into two groups (research and control) consisting of 30 people. The mean age of patients was 52.75 ± 11.58 years. Patients were examined before and after the implementation of the rehabilitation process, pain scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index were used for the study. Rehabilitation lasted every day for four weeks. The control group used orthopedic manual therapy combined with biofeedback, while the research group used a series of treatments based on osteopathy techniques. In addition, both groups of patients underwent a standard physical therapy program. Results: The study showed the effectiveness of manual therapy combined with biofeedback and osteopathic therapy in patients with lumbar spine pain syndrome. A decrease in pain was noted in patients of both groups, however a greater decrease was noted in the research group. In the assessment using the Oswestry Disability Index, a comparable level of quality of life was noted in both treatment groups. Conclusions: The introduced therapeutic programs show an improvement both in terms of reducing pain and improving functioning in everyday life, however, the rehabilitation process based on osteopathic techniques is more effective in reducing pain.

Sport of the disabled has been becoming more and more popular for several years, and wheelchair basketball is one of the most popular disciplines among the disabled. However, playing sports is connected with the possibility of injuries and pain in people training a given discipline. The aim of this study is to determine the occurrence of injuries and to identify most commonly injuries in athletes practicing basketball in wheelchairs. A literature review was conducted in Embase and Medline PubMed databases. Basic search terms are: shoulder injury OR shoulder pain OR upper limb disease OR upper limb disorders OR upper limb pain AND basketball OR basketball player OR wheelchair sport OR wheelchair user OR wheelchair athlete OR wheelchair basketball OR disabled sport OR disabled persons.Results: 511 non-duplicate results were found. At the stage of the analysis of titles and abstracts, 483 were rejected and 28 were qualified for the analysis of full texts. The review included 2 that met all the criteria. The topic is not discussed in large numbers in the literature and requires further research specifically focused on the prevention of shoulder injury as well as assessment of the risk of damage to individual elements that make up the shoulder joint and surrounding structures.

Background and aim: There is an increasing body of evidence that physical exercise may have a positive effect on people’s mental condition and well-being. Numerous study results indicate that physical activity helps in the treatment of depression and anxiety. This allows for a conclusion that sport – to a great extent – influences not only people’s physical aspects, but also their psyche. Sedentary lifestyle, time pressure and stress that accompanies people at an increasingly younger age contribute both to higher incidence of numerous civilisation diseases and to problems with mental health. The purpose of the study was to verify whether individuals practicing sports manifest better well-being than non-training individuals. Methods: A general interview was conducted with 80 students (40 individuals practicing sports and 40 individuals not practicing sports at all), whereupon they were requested to complete the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale questionnaire. Results: The individuals practicing sport exhibit greater well-being than the subjects from the control group. It was also demonstrated that the males in the study group exhibit greater wellbeing than the females from the same group However, no findings were made that longer duration of a single training session, its frequency or the time when a given person started practicing sport had any influence on his/her well-being. Conclusions: Practicing sports has a positive influence on people’s well-being. Physical activity should be promoted from as early an age as possible to minimise the risk of numerous diseases in the future, including those affecting mental health.

Głos jest narzędziem pracy w wielu profesjach, najliczniejszą zaś grupę ludzi zawodowo posługujących się głosem stanowią nauczyciele. Narażeni są oni na powstawanie zaburzeń głosu, które mogą wynikać z braku wiedzy i doświadczenia związanego z prawidłową emisją głosu oraz higieną pracy. Mimo coraz większej wiedzy i świadomości na temat konieczności prawidłowego posługiwania się głosem duży odsetek chorób narządu głosu stanowią schorzenia wynikające z nadmiernego i nieprawidłowego wysiłku głosowego. W artykule przedstawiono podsumowanie wstępnych wyników badań mających na celu ocenę wiedzy i doświadczenia nauczycieli z zakresu higieny głosu.