Background and Purpose. Few randomized controlled studies have examined the effects of exercise in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). This study investigated the effects of a 12-week, multimodal exercise program in patients with AS. Subjects. A convenience sample of 30 patients with AS (18 male, 12 female), with a mean age of 34.9 years (SD=6.28), participated in the study. Twenty-six subjects were classified as having stage I AS and 4 subjects were classified as having stage II AS according to the modified New York Criteria. Methods. This study was a randomized controlled trial. Subjects were assigned to either a group that received an exercise program or to a control group. The exercise program consisted of 50 minutes of multimodal exercise, including aerobic, stretching, and pulmonary exercises, 3 times a week for 3 months. Subjects in both groups received medical treatment for AS, but the exercise group received the exercise program in addition to the medical treatment. All subjects received a physical examination at baseline and at 12 weeks. The examinations were conducted under the supervision of a physician who specialized in physical medicine and rehabilitation and included the assessment of spinal mobility using 2 methods: clinical measurements (chin-to-chest distance, Modified Schober Flexion Test, occiput-to-wall distance, finger-to-floor distance, and chest expansion) and inclinometer measurements (gross hip flexion, gross lumbar flexion, and gross thoracic flexion). In addition, vital capacity was measured by a physiologist, and physical work capacity was evaluated by a doctorally prepared exercise instructor. Results. The measurements of the exercise group for chest expansion, chin-to-chest distance, Modified Schober Flexion Test, and occiput-to-wall distance were significantly better than those of the control group after the 3-month exercise period. The spinal movements of the exercise group improved significantly at the end of exercise program, but those of the control group showed no significant change. In addition, the results showed that the posttraining value of gross thoracic flexion of the exercise group was significantly higher than that of the control group. Physical work capacity and vital capacity values improved in the exercise group but decreased in the control group. Discussion and Conclusion. In this study, a multimodal exercise program including aerobic, stretching, and pulmonary exercises provided in conjunction with routine medical management yielded greater improvements in spinal mobility, work capacity, and chest expansion.

SummaryStudy aim: This study was performed to investigate the effects of an eight-week multi-model sport activity home programme on function of children with cerebral palsy.Material and methods: The study included 44 patients (11 girls, and 33 boys) aged between 4 and 11 years, having spastic diplegic and hemiplegic cerebral palsy, and receiving physical treatment from the rehabilitation centre. The 44 patients were divided into two groups each consisting of 22 children as the experimental group and control group. The mean age, height and weight were 8.27 ± 2.10 years, 123.36 ± 17.33 cm and 25.45 ± 8.87 kg in the experimental group, while the same parameters were 7.27 ± 2.80 years, 109.36 ± 16.99 cm and 20.20 ± 7.16 kg in the control group. Before taking measurements, the consent forms were signed by the families of patients with CP. The physical therapy programme based on the Bobath NDT method which took forty minutes was applied to both groups two days per week. Also, the multi-model sport activity home programme which took 50 minutes was applied regularly during eight weeks and five days a week in the Experimental Group. The Impact on Family Scale, the Gross Motor Function Classification System, the Gross Motor Function Measure, One Minute Walk Test, the time standing on the left and right foot, and Visual Pain Analog Scale were evaluated before and after the eight-week multi-model sport activity home programme.Results: There were no significant differences in some measurements including the Gross Motor Function Classification System, the Gross Motor Function Measure, One Minute Walk Test, and the time standing on the left and right foot. A significant difference was found only in the Visual Pain Analog Scale (p = 0.003).Conclusion: The effects of the eight-week multi-model sport activity home programme can contribute to a decrease in pain level of children with cerebral palsy.

Introduction: This study investigated the relationship between physical fitness, anthropometric characteristics, visual acuity of athletes with visual impairments, and their right shot performance. Method: The participants of the study involved 34 male athletes with different visual acuities who participated in the 2015 Visually Impaired Schools Goalball Championship in Alanya, Turkey. The means of the participants’ age, body weight, height, and sport age were 14.95 ± 1.28 years, 52.06 ± 8.89 kilograms, 163.58 ± 10.39 centimeters, 02.39 ± 1.50 years, respectively. The participants’ physical fitness, body fat percentage, handgrip (right–left), and spine flexibility were measured. Upper and lower extremity lengths were obtained through anthropometric measurements, and the athletes’ right shot performance was calculated. To analyze the data, the Shapiro–Wilk test was used, and one-way analysis of variance and independent sample t-test were performed, because the data showed a normal distribution ( p = .106). In addition, multivariate regression model analysis was utilized to investigate the relationship between all parameters and the athletes’ right shot performance. Results: A significant difference was found among the groups’ right shot performance ( p = .03), specifically on behalf of the athletes with low vision. When the participants’ anthropometric features, physical fitness values, and their right shot performance were examined, a positive relationship was observed between their dominant (right) handgrip strength and right shot performance (stepwise method; p = .03, R2 = 0.14). However, no significant difference emerged between their anthropometric characteristics and right shot performance. Discussion: It is considered that visual acuity and upper extremity muscle strength are of vital importance in goalball. Implications for practitioners: Whereas the International Blind Sports Federation applies rules according to visual acuity to offer equal conditions for some areas of sport, in goalball such a rule does not exist. It is important to make a change in the regulations for competition groupings according to visual acuities in goalball like in other sports for individuals with visual impairments. More frequent workout oriented to upper extremity muscle strength during right shot performance is suggested in the training sessions.

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ÖZET COMPARISON OF THE 1ST AND 2ND TRIAL SCORES OF APPLICANTS OF PHYSICAL ABILITY TEST OF SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORTS, ÇUKUROVA UNIVERSITY ABSTRACTThis study is conducted on the students (267 boys, 68.5%; 123 girls, 31.2%, total=390 candidate) who were applied for the Çukurova University (Ç.U.) School of Phyical Education and Sports, Physical Ability Test in 2002-03 years.There was a necessity to consider the small errors that causing to participants' fail in physical ability test which started during 1992-1993 academic years in C.U. Scool of Physical Education and Sports. In the previous years, participants had a one chance to try the test, this year by the changes in the test procedure, participants had given two chances in each of the 3 tests (30 m sprint test, vertical jump test, coordination and skill test) and best scores were taken for the evalution This study was conducted in order to find out any statistically significant difference between the 1st and 2nd trial scores of the applicants of Ç.U. School of Physical Education and Sports Physical Ability Test in 2002-03.Data were analyzed by using paired t-test of SPSS Program. According to results of this study, it is founded that average success scores of the 2nd trial of the applicants is higher than the 1st trial causing to statistically significant difference.Key words: Physical Ability Test (or Specialized Physical Test), Physical Education and Sports GİRİŞ:Türkiye genelinde üniversiteler, beden eğitimi ve spor alanında, özel yetenek sınavı içeriklerini belirlemekte ve beden eğitimi öğretmeni olmaya yatkın adayları özenle seçmeye çalışmaktadırlar. 5Tüm üniversitelerde, her yıl yapılan özel yetenek sınavlarında hangi seçim şeklinin daha doğru olduğu konusunda fikir birliğine varılmış değildir. Ancak sınav şeklinin tespitinde üniversitelerin sahip olduğu olanaklar (elektronik donanım, tesis ve öğretim elemanı vb.) sınav şeklini belirlemede ve başarılı seçimler yapmada katkı sağlamaktadır.