COMPARISON OF SHORT-TERM ANALGESIC EFFECTS OF EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK WAVE THERAPY (ESWT) AND CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT (CT) IN MEN WITH CHRONIC HEEL SPUR (HS).

Background. The surgical removal of heel spur (HS) provokes many controversial opinions, but clinical studies show the risk of complication after operation. An alternative to the surgical removal of HS is Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT), because it is non-invasive method. Objective. The aim of the study is to compare the short-term analgesic effects of ESWT and conservative treatment (CT) in males with chronic HS. Methods. Sixty patients (mean age 54.9±4.3 years; range 42 to 59 years) were examined who had pain associated with HS. In the shockwave group (group 1) patients received 1000–2000 impulses of shocks to the affected heel in a single session. The patients in this group took a series of 5 ESWT in 1 week intervals. Patients in the control group (group 2) at the same time received CT consisting of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), orthotics and a local cortisone injection. The basic method of research was to evaluate pain according to Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 0–10. The patients of the two groups were tested before the treatment, after the last treatment and 3 months and 6 months after the treatment. Results. A significant decrease of VAS (p=0.000) was seen in the shockwave group. In the control group no significant decrease of VAS was seen. Conclusions. ESWT reduces pain more effectively than CT in men with chronic HS. KEY WORDS: extracorporeal shock wave therapy, conservative treatment, visual analogue scale, heel spur, pain

COMPARISON OF SHORT-TERM ANALGESIC EFFECTS OF EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK WAVE THERAPY (ESWT) AND CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT (CT) IN MEN WITH CHRONIC HEEL SPUR (HS).

Background. The surgical removal of heel spur (HS) provokes many controversial opinions, but clinical studies show the risk of complication after operation. An alternative to the surgical removal of HS is Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT), because it is non-invasive method. Objective. The aim of the study is to compare the short-term analgesic effects of ESWT and conservative treatment (CT) in males with chronic HS. Methods. Sixty patients (mean age 54.9±4.3 years; range 42 to 59 years) were examined who had pain associated with HS. In the shockwave group (group 1) patients received 1000–2000 impulses of shocks to the affected heel in a single session. The patients in this group took a series of 5 ESWT in 1 week intervals. Patients in the control group (group 2) at the same time received CT consisting of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), orthotics and a local cortisone injection. The basic method of research was to evaluate pain according to Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 0–10. The patients of the two groups were tested before the treatment, after the last treatment and 3 months and 6 months after the treatment. Results. A significant decrease of VAS (p=0.000) was seen in the shockwave group. In the control group no significant decrease of VAS was seen. Conclusions. ESWT reduces pain more effectively than CT in men with chronic HS. KEY WORDS: extracorporeal shock wave therapy, conservative treatment, visual analogue scale, heel spur, pain

Evaluation of relations between body posture parameters with somatic features and motor abilities of boys aged 14 years

[b]introduction[/b]. Body posture is an individual characteristic for everyone, it shows great differentiation – especially in people during their progressive development. As a result, the variability of the development and lack of physical activity impose body posture defects in children and youth. In the literature there is a great lack of measureable data on the relations between correct body posture with somatic features, especially motor features in children at the developing age. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relations between correct body posture parameters, measured with the photogrammetric method, with some of the somatic features and motor abilities of boys at the age of 14. [b]material and methods[/b]. The study included 133 boys aged 14 attending junior secondary schools in the Kraków area of Poland. Only boys with the correct body posture were examined. Posture was examined by the Moire method, through which six parameters were obtained in the sagittal plane, seven in the frontal plane, and one in the transverse plane. The somatic measurements included basic parameters, such as body weight and body height. The measurements of motor features included: marching balance test, speed movement test of the arms and their functional strength. To evaluate the relationships between correct body posture with the characteristics of somatic and motor abilities, the Spearman rank correlation was used. The lowest level of statistical significance was accepted at p ≤ 0,05. [b]results[/b]. No correlations were noted between some of the correct body posture features and the somatic features, and some of the motor abilities of the examined boys at the level of p ≤ 0.05 and p ≤ 0.01. [b]conclusions[/b]. The irregular correlation between the correct body posture and somatic and motor features probably results from the rather big development variability of the boys during puberty

Postural stability in women in the eighth and ninth decades of life

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was an attempt to evaluate changes in the level of static equilibrium and the impact of visual information on the effectiveness of postural reactions of women in geriatric age. Methods: 36 senior female residents of L.A. Helc Nursing Home in Cracow, Poland, were examined. Considering the age, 2 groups were distinguished: group I – women at the age 71– 80 and group II – women aged 81–87. Their balance was assessed with stabilographic platform CQ Stab 2P. Measurements of the body stability were made in free standing position, with eyes open and eyes closed. Comparison of selected indicators of stability between the groups of the women was made with the Mann–Whitney U test. To assess the significance of differences between the results obtained in the test with eyes open and without visual control the Wilcoxon test was used. Results: Statistically significant differences between the results obtained in the groups concerned the length of the statokineziogram path on the X-axis, as well as the average speed of the COP movement on the X-axis. In the test without the visual control both groups showed statistically significant deterioration in most indicators of stability. Conclusions: Loss of postural control as a result of progressive involutional changes in the aging process is characterized by the intensity of the body instability in the frontal plane. These results indicate the need of applying in the rehabilitation programmes for elderly people adequate solutions, including the exercises directed at developing new or enhancing the decaying adjustment mechanisms

Balance in handstand and postural stability in standing position in athletes practicing gymnastics

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare and analyse of relationships between stability indices registered in two positions: standing and handstand in athletes practicing gymnastics at various levels of advancement. Methods: The study included 46 athletes practicing gymnastics. The research tool was posturograph CQ-Stab 2P. Results: In both standing position and handstand in the seniors there were statistically significantly lower values of such indicators as: sway area delimited by the center of pressure ( p = 0.004, p = 0.014), mean amplitude of COP ( p = 0.021, p = 0.017), mean displacement of the center of feet/hands pressure in medio-lateral direction ( p = 0.011, p = 0.003) and maximal displacement of the center of feet/hands pressure in mediolateral direction ( p = 0.036, p = 0.036). In the standing position, seniors also had statistically significantly lower values of the statokinesiogram path length, both total ( p = 0.000) as well as in anteroposterior ( p = 0.001) and mediolateral ( p = 0.002) directions. In the seniors group there were statistically significant correlations between variables obtained in standing position and handstand. Conclusions: The level of sport advancement significantly differentiates the stability of a body in standing position and handstand. The seniors practicing gymnastics, compared to juniors, are characterized by a better ability to control the position of the body in both positions. The lack of relationships between stability indices registered in standing and handstand in juniors suggests that the analysis of the values of stability indices obtained in a standing position does not provide the possibility of predicting the ability to maintain balance in the handstand during the recruitment of candidates for gymnastics

Inter-gender differences of balance indicators in persons 60–90 years of age

Ewa Puszczalowska-Lizis,1 Przemyslaw Bujas,2 Slawomir Jandzis,1 Jaroslaw Omorczyk,2 Marek Zak3 1Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Physiotherapy, University of Rzeszow, Rzeszow, Poland; 2Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, Institute of Sport, University School of Physical Education, Krakow, Poland; 3Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Physiotherapy, The Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland Introduction: Precision of movements responsible for maintaining balance deteriorates with age due to natural involutionary processes, thus prompting a research question whether the values of gender-related stability indicators might differ significantly among the study subjects over 60 years of age. Methods: The study group comprised 136 seniors (89 women, 47 men; aged 60–90 years). The CQ-Stab 2P 2-platform posturograph was used as the main research device, whereas the Mann–Whitney U-test was used to evaluate the gender-related differences in the average level of variables. Results: In the open-eye test, significant gender-related differences were observed with regard to the statokinesiogram’s path length in the mediolateral (ML) direction in the subjects aged 60–69 years (p=0.004), mean frequency of center of pressure (COP) displacement and number of COP displacements in the ML direction in the subjects aged 70–79 years (p=0.028, p=0.019), and mean COP displacement in the anteroposterior (AP) direction in the subjects aged 80–90 years (p=0.026). When the subjects were deprived of visual control, gender-related differences were observed with regard to the mean frequency of COP displacement, number of COP displacements in the ML direction in the subjects aged 60–69 years (p=0.045, p=0.049), and the statokinesiogram’s path length in the AP direction in the subjects aged 70–79 years (p=0.015). In the oldest age group, the differences were noted in the statokinesiogram’s path length in the AP direction (p=0.001), a sway area delimited by the COP point (p=0.003), range of AP stability (p<0.001), and range of ML stability (p=0.048). Conclusion: Gender-related differences affecting postural stability were found in the elderly. Men were characterized by a lower level of postural stability when compared with women. This highlights the need to have the gender-related differences taken into account, when developing various preventive and therapeutic programs specifically aimed at compensating certain involution-dependent deficits. Keywords: aged, balance, postural control, geriatric