Sports Background and Selected Features of Biological Condition in Life Quality of Women over 55

Population aging is a trend of the 21st century. Correctly administered, physical exercise is believed to significantly influence and modify the aging process, and remarkably decrease deterioration of the psycho-physical condition. The aim of this study was to verify if (and how) competitive sports practiced by women in their youth have influence on their physical fitness and life-quality in adulthood and old age. The study included 94 women who declared leading or having lead a physically active lifestyle (49 women did sports in the past, while 45 of them were physically non-active in their youth). Physical fitness resulting from former sport activity was analyzed with the Rikli&Jones test. Significantly better results were obtained by the group of former competitors in the bending forward and walking test. There is a close correspondence between doing sport in the past and mineral bone density, good subjective health evaluation and motor organ diseases. The approach to subjective health evaluation was much better in women who did sport in the past despite their significantly higher prevalence to motor organ diseases. Osteoarticular and muscle disorders may be the negative results of sport performance in the past

Running as a form of active leisure - running paths as a substantial element of local society development strategies

The civilizational progress has brought many conveniences that allowed us to choose leisure and recreation as the preferred way of spending our free time. The interest in the advantages of open-air activities keeps growing, together with the number of needs emerging with the constant improvement of the economic status of our society. Meeting those needs has become the aim of many projects. The more fashionable running becomes, the higher amount of people get interested in it and start running. The dynamic development of tourism related to running is a challenge for the tourism market. The astonishing popularity of this form of sport is especially visible in the number of people taking part in official runs and the growing number of the runs themselves. Promoting the region through active tourism is more than desirable. The goal is to show the right direction in creating the local society development strategies in fields such as health and active leisure for local governments. This direction is the proposition to create more running paths. The way of creating them has been described on the example of Świdnica city in Lower Silesian region ofPoland. The project should perfectly match the development strategy of the city and become helpful for the municipality. Having the area of the city and the number of its inhabitants in mind one could apply the guidelines written above to other cities with similar conditions without hesitation

The Applicability of Using Parameters of the Autocorrelation Function in the Assessment of Human Balance During Quiet Bipendal Stance

The purpose of the study was to analyze the parameters of the autocorrelation function when assessing time series ground reaction force (GRF) signals during quiet standing. GRF in the three directions were recorded on two Kistler force plates during three 15-s trials in a sample of 82 (31 females and 51 males) participants. Autocorrelation was performed on the GRF data and four parameters characterizing the function were computed. Comparisons of the right- and left-foot parameter means showed significant differences in mediolateral GRF for the time of the function's decay to 0, magnitude of the derivative output, and mean decay velocity to the extremum. Significant correlations were observed among all parameters – weak correlations between the time of the function's decay to 0 and the time to the first extremum and strong correlations between the derivative output and mean decay velocity to the extremum. The analyzed autocorrelation function parameters can serve as a precise measure of the motor control process during quiet standing. The strong correlations observed between the four parameters indicate that they evaluate similar properties of the central nervous system as a regulator of balance maintenance

Motives of physically active adults to participate in the 5 PKO Wroclaw Night Half Marathon

Introduction and aim: Running has become an integral part of social life around the world. It is the simplest and most natural form of movement, which is the basis of human existence. The popularity of this physical activity is increasing rapidly due to many sports and recreational events which are being more frequently organized. In Poland, long-distance running events are held, not only in big cities, but also in small towns and villages. Being by nature a “social animal”, people feel pressure from their environment to participate in such events. Thus, what motivates them to frequently make extreme physical effort?Materials and methods: The research group was comprised of 450 runners from all over Poland (331 men, 119 women). Diagnostic survey techniques and a questionnaire were used in the study.Results: Nearly one-third of the respondents declared their willingness to participate and complete another half marathon (29.11%). Only 28 people wanted to become champions in their age group, and another 23 subjects wanted a prize sponsored by an employer or other organization interested in their participation in a run. More than half of the respondents replied that participation in the half marathon was the result of many months of leading a healthy lifestyle.Conclusions: Participation in a half marathon allows competitors to fight their weaknesses. Runners want to participate in sports events because of the atmosphere and opportunity to spend time with their loved ones

Past sports participation and current physical fitness in men over 50 years

Background. The literature on the determinants of health in older adults and the elderly shows a paucity of current research on the long-term effects (positive and negative) of participation in professional sports in youth. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between early involvement in professional sports and late-age physical fitness. Material and methods. A sample of 48 men over 50 years was recruited, of which 23 were former professional athletes and 25 formed a control group with no history of involvement in sports in youth. Anthropometric and physical fitness measures were collected and basic descriptive statistics were calculated. Data were analyzed with Statistica 9.1 software using Student’s t test for independent samples. Results. Intergroup differences were observed in body fat distribution. In addition, the former athletes exhibited lower waist and hip girths. Conclusions. The lack of statistically significant differences in fitness levels demonstrates that past participation in sports does not guarantee improved health in later life. Additional research is needed involving larger sample sizes and controlling for lifestyle behaviors and quality of life markers

Characteristics of Autocorrelation Structure of Lower Extremity Functional Laterality in Disturbed and Undisturbed Bipedal Upright Stance

Purpose. It is posited that functional laterality is influenced by the generation and conduction of neural signals and therefore associated with sensorimotor control. The question arises if symmetry or asymmetry in sensorimotor processing affects the development of symmetric or asymmetric motor programs in the lower extremities. The purpose of the study was to examine the mechanisms of the human mobility moto-control - the process of maintaining body balance in a standing position through an appropriate course of distribution of ground reaction forces in a time frame, in a situation requiring lower extremity movement symmetry. Methods. The autocorrelation function was calculated for ground reaction forces (in the three orthogonal axes) registered during 45 s of bipedal upright stance in two conditions (eyes open and closed). Results. Minor albeit significant deficiencies in postural muscle control were revealed as a function of time, as evidenced in the decay of the autocorrelation function to zero (T0) between the right and left foot for the mediolateral ground reaction force signal. However, the results attest to symmetrical sensorimotor control between both feet. Conclusions. Motor actions (postural corrections) performed in long-duration tasks may have less of an effect on sensorimotor control than those applied in shorter duration projections. ANOVA and correlation analysis (across all variables) of the right and left foot T0 indicate considerable symmetry in the control of force magnitude and direction during upright standing

The Court of Arbitration for Sport as an example of application of alternative dispute resolution measures in sport law at the international level

The Court of Arbitration in Sport through its nearly 30-year history became a leading forum for resolving sport-related disputes at the international level. A broad spectrum of cases reviewed by CAS arbitrators include doping, remuneration, eligibility and nationality, and even validity of sports and broadcasting contracts, licenses or election of members of international sport federations. The exponential growth in the number of cases show not only the faith that many subjects of international sports law put in the correctness of the CAS awards, but also its position as an universal forum for resolving disputes within the international sports community and its role as a lawmaker in creation of lex sportiva – the common law of international sport

Financial situation, research activity, and mood disorders among PhD students

Background. The aim of the study was to provide information about the socio-economic status, research activity, and mood disorders among PhD students of the Academy of Physical Education in Wrocław, Poland. Material and methods. This study covered 61 PhD students (mean age 28.4 years). The research employed the diagnostic survey method. The author’s survey examined the employment status and economic situation. An additional method, used to assess depression symptoms, was Beck Depression Inventory. Results. In the fields of physiotherapy and physical education, 96% and 78% of PhD students, respectively, had found employment. The total of 72% of physical education and 50% of physiotherapy students had published at least once. As many as 30% of all respondents reported symptoms of mood disorders and complained about mental health problems. Conclusions. Mood disorders are a serious problem in PhD students of the Academy of Physical Education in Wrocław. While physical education students show greater activity in the field of scientific research, more physiotherapy students are professionally active