Krzak J, Ślężyńska M, Ślężyński J. Goalball as an effective means of physical improvement for blind and visually impaired players. AbstractThe study was performed between 2002-2006 among players aged 16-18 practicing goalball in order to investigate the beneficial effects of the game on physical fitness, spatial orientation and sound localization in people with visual impairment. Substantial progress in physical fitness of all motor skills in goalball players was confirmed. Tests for visual orientation and sound localization also demonstrated significant improvement in the time needed to perform the given trial. Goalball is worthy of becoming widespread as it produces evident personal and social benefits. The great attraction of sport games practiced by disabled persons became the impulse for searching for a physical game available for blind and visually impaired people. The bells embedded in the rubber ball made this possible and created a new concept of the game and has made it popular worldwide.

Objective. The aim of the research was to verify whether intellectually disabled people are responsive to motor stimulation, and whether the specific physical exercises, besides traditional rehabilitation and occupational therapy, would result in physical fitness enhancement. Materials and methods. The research was carried out on 259 persons with moderate and significant intellectual disability, participants of occupational therapy workshops. They were divided into two groups: a control group that underwent traditional rehabilitation treatment and occupational therapy, and an experimental group that additionally performed feasible physical exercises for 10 months. Participants' body mass and height were measured to calculate their body mass index (BMI). Physical fitness was assessed with the Eurofit Special test and additional balance tests, at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. Results. The results showed that the body mass of both men and women increased in the control group, and was reduced in the experimental group. The results of the physical fitness tests were more varied, in which the control group obtained similar results in the repeated measurements, and the experimental group significantly improved the initial results after 10 months of performing the feasible physical exercises. Conclusions. The applied physical exercises performed in the experimental group were effective because they caused body mass loss and significant improvement in physical fitness.

Introduction: The aim of the physical activity of the intellectually disabled is the strengthening of health, creating movement habits, promoting active recreation, and maintaining exercise capacity. Skillfully applied physical activity allows to mitigate the effects of pathology and create the compensations to enable the intellectually disabled people to live relatively independently. Physical activity and sport also increase their chances to integrate with their families, peers, and social environment.Materials and methods: The research targeted a group of 134 people with moderate or considerable intellectual disability (65 women and 69 men), aged 20-53 years, who participated in occupational therapy workshops in Jastrzębie Zdrój, Rybnik, and Żory. Physical fitness was assessed using the “Eurofit Special” test and balance tests. Measurements of body height and mass were also taken and then used to calculate the body mass index (BMI).Results: A salient somatic trait was the greater body mass relative to height among the persons with considerable disability, clearly illustrated by the BMI. This explained their greater heaviness in performing physical exercises. An even greater difference between participants with moderate and considerable intellectual disability was visible in physical fitness. Obviously, older persons did not achieve as good results in fitness tests as the younger ones, yet the participants were more differentiated by the level of disability than age. Most symptomatic differences to the disadvantage of the considerably disabled were observed in explosive strength, speed, abdominal muscle strength, and flexibility.Conclusions: Significant differences in fitness between the compared groups make it necessary to take into account the level of intellectual disability in the course of physical education and sport, at work, and in household duties.

No abstract