Volume 4 (2012): Issue 2012 (January 2012)

Study aim: To assess possible effects of gender and of the level of motor activity on the deficiencies of selected vitamins and minerals in young subjects.

Material and methods: Four groups of physical education (PE) students (n = 15 each) were studied: sedentary men (SM) and women (SF), and physically active men (AM) and women (AF) engaged in endurance sports, all aged 18 - 24 years, were studied. Somatic measurements included body height and mass, and body fat content (by Durnin's method, from 4 skinfolds), the biochemical ones included concentrations of retinol, α-tocopherol, copper, zinc and iron in plasma.

Results: Men had significantly higher retinol (p<0.05) and iron (p<0.01) levels than women. The AM and SF groups had significantly (p<0.05 - 0.01) higher plasma levels of copper and zinc than Group SM. Group AF had lower zinc levels than Groups AM and SF, that latter group having lower α-tocopherol compared with Group SM.

Conclusions: Inasmuch the observed differences could be due to the respective intakes, the effect of motor activity and the associated increased elimination of minerals could not be ruled out.

Study aim: To determine if pupil physical activity and Body Mass Index classifications maintained or improved after a one-year professional development program involving both classroom and physical education teachers. Guskey's model of teacher change guided this study.

Material and methods: Indigenous children from ten schools (N = 320) in grades 3-12 from one community participated in this year-long comprehensive school change effort. Classroom (n = 31) and physical education teachers (n = 7) participated in this study as intervention (n = 27) or comparison (n = 11) teachers. Intervention teachers participated in a year-long professional development program to increase physical activity and healthy behaviour knowledge of pupils.

Results: ANOVA results for pupil physical activity (measured using pedometry) indicated that both groups of pupils (intervention and comparison) became significantly more active over time. The intervention groups' behaviour was less stable (α = 0.71) over time versus the comparison group (α = 0.86), suggesting positive behaviour changes. No significant Body Mass Index changes were found.

Conclusions: Although the intervention resulted in physical activity increases for both intervention and comparison pupils at the schools, change takes time and these initial findings show progress in increasing physical activity behaviours at school in an understudied and disadvantaged population of indigenous USA youth.

Study aim: To assess body composition, health awareness and cardiorespiratory fitness in female university students differing in volume of obligatory physical activity classes.

Material and methods: 109 female students of the University of West Hungary volunteered to participate in the study. The subjects were divided into two groups according to frequency and volume of obligatory physical activity: students of recreation and health education programmes (RHE; n = 27) and of social pedagogy, tourism and catering, and teacher training programmes (STT; n = 82). Basic somatic characteristics were measured, body composition was assessed by bioelectrical impedance, cardiorespiratory fitness was evaluated using the Rockport Fitness Walking Test and health behaviour was assessed by questionnaire method. Student's t-test for independent samples, the U Mann Whitney test or chi-square test were used in data analysis.

Results: RHE students had higher values of percentage muscle mass (p<0.05) and of cardiorespiratory performance (p<0.001), they also declared significantly more frequently (p<0.001) practicing leisure physical activity as compared with the STT group. However, in both groups the symptoms of unhealthy behaviour were observed.

Conclusions: Although beneficial effects of augmented physical activity on body composition, cardiorespiratory performance and attitudes towards taking up leisure-time activity was noted, attention should be paid to symptoms of unhealthy behaviour observed in female students. This support the need for including obligatory physical education classes in university curriculum and the importance of education and promotion of healthy behaviour among the students.

Study aim: To assess the physical activity of male and female adolescents from Poland living in a town (Czechowice-Dziedzice) and in a city (Katowice).

Material and methods: The research involved 431 high school students aged 16-18 years (249 from Czechowice-Dziedzice and 182 from Katowice). Physical activity was measured by the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The volume of the different levels of physical activity was calculated in units of MET min/wk.

Results: The total volume of weekly physical activity was higher among high school students living in a town (Czechowice-Dziedzice) than students living in a city (Katowice). Only 31.5% of the students met the criteria for recommended physical activity.

Conclusions: The level of physical activity varies by place of residence. Students living in towns are more physically active than youth living in cities. Most high school students (64%) included in the research can be considered to be insufficiently physically active.

Study aim: To examine which gender scheme is used by women who take up stereotypically masculine sports activity and to obtain an answer to the question of whether these subjects achieve higher results on the masculinity scale and lower results in femininity than women who practise other sports and women who do not take up any sports activity. Do women who practise masculine sports achieve a higher sports class and self-evaluate their results better if they identify with a masculine image?

Material and methods: 90 women participated in the research: 30 sportswomen who practise masculine sports (judo, boxing, wrestling); 30 women training in gymnastics, swimming and basketball; and 30 women not taking up any sports activity. The research utilized the inventory of psychological gender assessment (IPP) by Kuczynska and a questionnaire prepared by the author.

Results: The analysis of the results revealed that individuals taking up sports activity are to a large extent androgynic, while as far as masculine sports are concerned, a masculine gender scheme dominates. Women practising masculine sports gain significantly higher masculinity indices and lower femininity indices when compared to the remaining subjects. Simultaneously it was not proved whether individuals with a higher intensity of masculinity achieved a higher sports class or whether they self-evaluated their sports skills better.

Conclusions: Women that take part in sport activities considered by society as masculine, identify themselves with masculine and androgynic gender schema.

Study aim: To evaluate the process of preparing Polish athletes with disabilities for the 2008 Beijing Summer Paralympic Games.

Material and methods: The study included 31 women and 58 men representing 11 Paralympic disciplines, accounting for 97.8% of the Polish team taking part in the games. The average age was 32 years; the average amount of experience with sports training, 12 years. The method of diagnostic survey applied in the study was a questionnaire by J. Kłodecka-Różalska that was adapted to the needs of athletes with disabilities. The interpretation of the results was based on the arithmetic mean of individual evaluations. After checking the confidence interval, the factors were classified into one of three categories of conditions: satisfactory, sufficient, or unsatisfactory.

Results: Data analysis revealed different levels of care and conditions created for the Polish national team during their preparations for the Beijing Paralympic Games. The athletes were fully satisfied with the conditions of the central camps and consultation (food, accommodation, sports equipment) and social relations (atmosphere of cooperation between the athletes and cooperation between the athletes and national team coaches of various disciplines). Issues requiring more professional attention are the health of athletes nominated to participate in the Paralympic Games (medical care and individual orthopaedic equipment) and contact with the media, which shapes the image of sport of the disabled people.

Conclusions: In preparation for Paralympic Games, these athletes need to be provided with the constant and highlevel assistance of a psychologist and a nutritionist. In the perspective of future athletic goals set for the representatives of our country, a high standard of sports facilities, individual sports equipment, transport to the central camps and consultation, as well as professional care in the field of wellness, physiotherapy and massage, should be taken into account for Paralympic Game preparations.

Study aim: To examine the major social, cultural, and political factors determining sporting successes in very small countries at macro, meso, and micro levels through the example of Cyprus.

Material and methods: The article is based partly on the analysis of statistics and documents and partly on a segment of a comprehensive investigation carried out by standardized questionnaire and in-depth interviews among all Cypriot Olympians participating in the summer Olympic Games (N=93). The response rate was 79.6%. Regarding some major characteristics (age, gender, sport) the researched population fairly represents the total population.

Results: Little investment has been made in building sports facilities, the training of coaches, the support for sport science, and in the development of sport medicine. Elite sport has been reluctantly promoted by sport policy. Elite athletes had limited competition opportunities. Cypriot children with lower socioeconomic backgrounds and from villages had higher chances for becoming top-level athletes. Young girls hardly had any access to competitive sport.

Conclusions: Based on the analysis of documents it can be stated that not only the smallness of the country and the small number of the population but also the poor sporting tradition and culture as well as inconsistent sport policy also contribute to the Cypriot elite athletes' sporting results. From the findings by questionnaire it might be concluded that the Cypriot children had no equal chances to become top athletes.

Study aim: To explore how elderly people with different living conditions are characterized by their fitness, body composition, and quality of life.

Material and methods: Women aged 60 years and over (n = 60; age = 76.2 ± 7.6 years) were examined in cross-sectional study from a medium-sized city in western Hungary. Participants were chosen from a twilight home (n=27, age = 79.4 ± 7.7years) and clubs for retired people (n = 33, age = 73.7 ± 6.6 years). Physical fitness status was assessed by Fullerton Functional Fitness Test - Senior Fitness Test (FFFT); body composition (BC) with Inbody-720 bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy; and quality of life with WHOQOL-OLD questionnaire. Data were analysed with the use of t-test for independent samples and stepwise discriminant analysis.

Results: FFFT shows significant differences in each variable: lower and upper body strength, aerobic endurance, upper and lower body flexibility, and dynamic balance. These variables were significantly higher in the clubs for retired people. The BC of twilight home residents was significantly lower in height and fat-free mass. Regarding quality of life, there were significant differences in perception, autonomy, and sociability for the favour of elderly in clubs; however, there were no differences in activities of past, present and future, or differences in attitudes towards death or intimacy.

Conclusions: A sedentary and institutionalized lifestyle with little variety in daily activity and programing has a negative effect on physical fitness status, body composition, and quality of life. Self-motivation, active lifestyle, and regular and varied programs seem to have leading roles in the quality of life in elder population.

Study aim: To assess whether in a special area, such as football, formal thinking may appear as early as at the age of 10 years.

Material and methods: In total 50 children divided into three groups took part in the study: 10-year-old football players from the Premier League Team - level 1 (Group 1; n = 22), 10-year-old football players from the Football League Team - level 3 (Group 2; n = 13) and 13-year-old football players from the Premier League Team - level 1 (Group 3; n = 15). With the help of specific motor tests, the kinetic memory, level of thinking and technical level were assessed.

Results: The 10-year-old children representing lower levels of football proficiency (Group 2) were significantly (p<0.05) inferior to their mates from the Premier League in both the level of thinking as well as in kinetic memory. No significant differences were found between members of Group 1 and Group 3 in any of the studied variables.

Conclusions: The results support the thesis that 10-year-old children are able to use formal thinking in a particular area, such as football. To be aware of this would be of great importance to those experts who deal with selection and talent identification.

Study aim: To examine the factors that motivate Cypriots to participate in sport, particularly examining the differences between the last 3 generations regarding their motivations for sport involvement at the present and at the ages of 12-18 years.

Material and methods: The study was completed by survey method among 3 generational groups in Cyprus comprised of secondary school students, their parents, and their grandparents (N=1067). Data were collected via questionnaires that contained 3 open-ended, 16 multiple-choice, and 12 semantic differential scale questions. The response rate was 100% for the students, 77.4% for the parents, and 65.5% for the grandparents. The data were analyzed by the SPSS program for Microsoft Windows; factor analysis and one-way analysis of variance were used.

Results: The examined motivations were clustered into two factors: Joy Factor and Health Factor. Significant differences were found among the 3 generations in their sporting activities at present and the ages of 12-18 years. The students' participation motivations for sport are closely related to fun and enjoyment. Their parents have similar motives at present, but in their childhood they considered health enhancement as the most important reason for sport involvement. The oldest generation regarded the improvement of their health as a stimulating factor for sport in their childhood and youth; they did not change this during their whole life cycle.

Conclusions: Generational differences in the motivation for participation in sport are probably universal, but their elements are dissimilar depending on the value system in general and in sport in societies. The historical and cultural circumstances in Cyprus allow for the generalization of the conclusions only at the national level.

Study aim: To investigate changes in selected indices of anaerobic capacity, the ability to maintain body balance and the height of elevating body's centre of mass, and maximum power output in lower limbs during countermovement jump (CMJ) after 6 months of participation in yoga classes in Ashtanga Vinyasa system (Power Yoga).

Material and methods: The study included 24 untrained women who volunteered to participate in a half-year experiment. The analysis focused on 12 women who participated in the classes until the experiment ended. The Wingate test was used to evaluate anaerobic capacity. In order to measure the functional state of vestibular organ the authors used a stabilographic method. Measurements of power output in the lower limbs and the height of elevation of the centre of mass in CMJ jumps were carried out using a dynamometric platform.

Results: The 6 months of training in the Power Yoga system considerably improved the height of CMJ jumps from 0.276 ± 0.048 m to 0.308 ± 0.038 m (p<0.05). These changes were not accompanied by significant increases in maximum power output (1286 ± 200 W and 1327 ± 2134 W before and after, respectively; p>0.05).

Conclusions: Practicing Power Yoga does not induce changes in the anaerobic capacity and the functional state of the vestibular organ in women.

Study aim: To assess immediate cardiovascular effect of pranava pranayama in the supine position in patients with concomitant hypertension and diabetes.

Material and methods: Twenty-nine established patients having both hypertension and type 2 diabetes and attending regular therapy sessions were recruited and randomly allotted to pranava or control groups. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were recorded before and after 10 minutes of "sham relaxation" in the control group and 10 minutes of pranava pranayama in the study group.

Results: Significant (p<0.05) decreases of blood pressure and heart rate were observed. However, responses in the pranava and control groups were different: systolic pressure, pulse pressure, as well as mean pressure significantly decreased in the pranava group and this was not observed in the control group.

Conclusions: Pranava pranayam in the supine posture produces an integrated relaxation response, clinically valuable in patients with hypertension and diabetes.

Reference values (norms) of many somatic variables are indispensable in diverse areas, e.g. medicine, sports, armed forces, etc. Such norms are usually presented as means and standard deviations or as lower/upper limits for various age categories of given sex and mostly represent population values instead of being related to body size.

The aim of this paper is to present the most common errors in the process of establishing norms, not only those related to somatic measurements. A set of rules is proposed that may greatly facilitate that process and make the resulting norms rational and reliable.

Study aim: To assess body posture and somatic parameters in young females practicing basketball in comparison with their non-training peers and to state whether there is a relationship between the quality of one's posture and the length and frequency of training.

Material and methods: The study included 32 young female basketball players aged 13-15 years old. The period of basketball practice was 3-4 years for the group aged 13-14 years; the frequency of practice was 3-7 times per week. In the case of the group of 15-year-olds, it was 4-5 years, 4-7 times a week, respectively. The control group consisted of 37 young female subjects in the same age brackets that did not participate in any directed physical activity. Body height was measured with the use of a height meter at medical scales, whereas body mass, fat mass, and total body water mass were defined with the use of Tanita electronic scale. A specialist device using the projection Moiré method (MORA, CQElektronik System, Poland) was used to assess one's body posture.

Results: Body height and water mass were significantly different in the younger group. However, the parameters of body posture differed significantly only in the group of 15-year-olds. The following have been observed: much greater asymmetries in pelvic placement in the transverse plane (p<0.05), significantly greater asymmetries of shoulder blades in relation to the transverse plane (p<0.01), as well as significantly smaller thoracic kyphosis angle (p<0.05) in female basketball players in comparison with the placement of the above parameters in their non-training peers. Moreover, correlations between the frequency of basketball practice and the deflection of the line of spinous processes, torso inclination angle, placement of shoulder blades in the transverse plane and towards the spine, kyphosis angle, and a synthetic index of body posture (i.e. postural symmetry) were noted.

Conclusions: Training basketball may lead to increased occurrence of asymmetry of one's body posture.

Study aim: To examine the pedometer steps taken during the school-day by American Indian children during all four seasons.

Material and methods: Participants included third-sixth grade children (n = 157) aged 9.6±1.07 (boys) and 9.7±1.2 (girls) attending school from one Southwestern US American Indian community. Children had a mean BMI of 23.9±7.7 with 70% being classified as overweight or obese. Children wore a pedometer (Yamax Digiwalker SW-200) for 20 days (5 days per season).

Results: Children accumulated 4762±1544 (boys) and 4408±1194 (girls) steps/day across the four seasons with the highest totals occurring during the Fall (4899, males; 4796, females) and the lowest totals during the Winter (4463, males; 4043, females). Repeated measures ANOVA showed no significant differences in daily school-day steps across seasons. Children classified as normal weight averaged 5146±1688 steps/day, overweight children averaged 5020±1333 steps/day, and obese children accumulated 4275±1123 steps/day.

Conclusions: PA stayed relatively consistent across seasons in this sample of children. However, children were the least active during Winter months. With 70% of the current sample being classified as overweight and with American Indian children at greater risk for numerous hypokinetic diseases there is a clear need for additional school-day PA opportunities.

Study aim: To assess quality of life, assertiveness associated with aging personalities, and personality dimensions as related to age, highest level of qualification, and place of residence of elderly males.

Material and methods: Elderly (n = 1269) men were chosen from the clubs for the elderly from settlements in one of the poorest counties in Hungary. The sample was divided into groups according to their age (60-69 years old; 70 years old and above), education (primary, secondary/higher), and place of residence (village-town). Quality of life was assessed by Quality of Life – OLD (WHOQOL-OLD), assertiveness was measured by the Rathus assertiveness schedule, and personality characteristics were measured by the Big Five Questionnaire.

Results: Predominantly, relatively low levels of the quality of life, assertiveness, and personality of elderly males were noticed. In none of the scales, no significant gender- or education-related differences were found; however, men living in a town had higher (p<0.05) levels of Sociability (3.49 vs. 3.42), Emotions (3.01 vs. 2.94), Openness (3.18 vs. 3.08), and Conscientiousness (3.37 vs. 3.30) and lower levels of Self-efficacy (0.31 vs. 0.69) than those living in villages.

Conclusions: Age and level of education do not seem to have a meaningful effect on elderly men’s quality of life, assertiveness, and personality characteristics; however, elderly living in villages have fewer opportunities for successful ageing.

Study aim: To determine physical activity levels of soldiers in military administration units and special units.

Material and methods: The research included 58 military administration soldiers (male) and 45 special unit soldiers. The average age of the military administration soldiers was 45.2 ± 5.54 years, whereas in the case of special unit soldiers it was 31.4 ± 4.40 years. The research tool employed was the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), long version, last 7 days.

Results: According to the adopted criteria, all special unit soldiers and 41.4% of the military administration soldiers were assigned a high level of physical activity (p<0.001). Of the researched soldiers in the military administrative units, 29.3% were assigned to the adequate level and 29.3% were assigned to the inadequate level. One in two soldiers from military administration units does not participate in mandatory physical education classes nor do they compensate for the shortage of physical activity in their leisure time.

Conclusions: Definite steps should be taken regarding broadly based promotion of health and physical activity among Polish Armed Forces soldiers.

Study aim: To determine whether the self-assessment of body mass has an impact on the nutritional behaviour of young women.

Material and methods: The material was gathered in cross-sectional research of 1129 female university students. The measurements of body height, body mass, and waist and hip circumference were taken. Each person completed a questionnaire concerned the nutritional habits, recreational physical activity, and self-perception of body mass. In this work, only the data of 925 students with BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 were included.

Results: Of the participants, 2.8% of the students assessed their body mass as too low, 75.4% as correct, and 21.8% as too high. Students assessing their body mass as too low featured the lowest values of BMI and waist circumference, whereas those with a body mass assessment of too high featured the highest values of BMI. Those students with a body mass assessment as too high followed a diet and skipped meals far more frequently, consumed breads and sweets far less frequently, and drank more liquids daily than students who assessed their body mass as correct. No differences were found in the frequency of recreational physical activity in relation to self-perception of body mass.

Conclusions: BMI values above population average, even if they fit within the norm, are regarded by the students as too high. The self-assessment of body mass as too high results in undertaking efforts aimed at reducing body mass.

Study aim: To evaluate changes in strength abilities of adolescent girls that underwent a 3-year physical education curriculum.

Material and methods: The research participants comprised 141 girls aged 13.3 ± 0.35 years who participated in a 3- year physical education curriculum (PEC). Evaluation was based on the following EUROFIT Testing Battery tests: standing broad jump, handgrip strength, sit-ups, and bent arm hang. After the completion of the curriculum, changes in strength abilities of the participants were evaluated. Test results were compared to reference values for the population of Polish girls.

Results: After the 3-year PEC, research participants obtained significantly better results in all analyzed tests. At the beginning of the PEC, participants performed significantly worse in comparison to the reference values for the standing broad jump and bent arm hang tests, and better in the handgrip strength test. After the completion of the PEC, the participants performed significantly better in the sit-up and handgrip strength tests compared to reference values; for the standing broad jump and bent arm hang tests, they performed closer to the reference values.

Conclusions: While the development of student physical fitness is achievable through physical education lessons at school, innovative teaching methods and professional and creative approaches on the part of teachers are necessary.

Study aim: To assess the effects of vertical, horizontal, and combination depth jump training programs on the performance of the running long jump by male athletes.

Material and methods: A total of 80 physical education students ranging in age between 18-21 years with mean depth jump performance of 44.3 ± 5.13 cm from a 45 cm high box were purposively selected to act as subjects. The subjects were randomly assigned to vertical depth jump training (VD), horizontal depth jump training (HD), the combination of both (CD), and a control group (CG). Each week, experimental groups performed 6 sets (10 repetitions per set) twice a week for 10 weeks of depth jump training from a height of 20 cm, which progressed to 40 cm according to the step method. Running long jump (RLJ) was measured before and after 10 weeks. Analysis of covariance, with pre-test scores as a covariate, was applied to compare scores. A pairwise comparison was done by using the Scheffe’s post-hoc test.

Results: The average increase of RLJ performance in groups VD (0.17 m) and CD (0.23 m) was significantly different (p<0.05) than in group CG (0.05 m). Improvement in group HD (0.12 m) was not significantly different than in group CG; moreover, no significant difference existed between training groups.

Conclusions: A combination of both vertical and horizontal depth jumping is required for long jumpers, with a higher proportion of vertical depth jumping.

Study aim: To assess the size of secular trends in the physical fitness of boys from eastern Poland taking into consideration stages of education.

Material and methods: The physical fitness results of boys aged 7-19 years living in eastern regions of Poland were analyzed: 3188 students were examined in 1986 while in 2006 the research included 10 810 boys. In both examinations (1986 and 2006), the level of motor abilities was measured according to the guidelines of the International Physical Fitness Test. The individual results of children and youth examined in 2006, which took into account calendar age, were converted into points on a T scale, with means and standard deviations from 1986 accepted as norms. On the basis of the obtained point values and taking into account stages of education (7-9 – integrated teaching, 10-12 – primary school, 13-15 – lower-secondary school, 16-18 – upper-secondary school), arithmetic means and dispersion values concerning motor abilities in the groups were calculated. Individual results in motor abilities of every subject were used to define quantitative generation changes. Differences between the means obtained in 1986 and 2006, as well as between the fractions of boys qualified for respective fitness category in both examinations, were assessed.

Results: Over the 2-decade period the boys from eastern Poland slightly improved their results only as far as sit-ups are concerned (1.47 points), while the level of bent arm hang, handgrip, 50 m run, and shuttle run 4×10 m remained the same. In contrast, negative changes were observed in the long run (4.44 points), the sit-and-reach test (4.47 points), and the standing broad jump (3.74 points). The greatest decline in motor abilities was noted amongst schoolchildren from integrated education classes (2.69 points); whereas the smallest decline was noted in adolescents from lower secondary schools (0.60 points).

Conclusions: The changes noted in physical fitness indicate that in the context of health the revision of the Act on Physical Culture from 2002, which reduced the number of school’s physical education classes, is a debatable issue.

Study aim: To compare the perception of own body by adolescent boys with an external assessment.

Material and methods: Two groups of boys (45 from Warsaw, aged 15 – 16 years, and 49 from a small town in South- Eastern Poland, aged 16 years) were studied by using standard body image templates containing 9 shapes. Every boy indicated the perceived shape and that he wished to have. The external assessment was done by the same investigator and that assessment served to classify boys as underweight (n = 4), normal (n = 51) or overweight (n = 39; Shapes 1 – 2, 3 – 4 and 5 – 9, respectively) and to correlate the scores with BMI.

Results: The external and self-assessments were concordant in overweight boys, the desired shapes being significantly lower only in Group 1. The percentage of overweight boys was significantly (p<0.05) higher in Group 1 than in Group 2. “Normal” boys from Group 1 significantly (p<0.001) overrated their body shape compared with external rating. External ratings of body shape significantly correlated with BMI values in both groups alike (r = 0.82, p<0.001).

Conclusions: The presented approach to body shape studies may contribute to preventing biosocial disorders in adolescent boys brought about by thoughtless striving for an ideal shape promoted by mass media.

Study aim: To assess the presence of musculoskeletal deformities in lower extremities and to detect faulty posture in schoolchildren living in a rural region of Iran.

Material and methods: 172 schoolchildren aged 5-20 years, including 66 boys and 106 girls were screened deviations in the musculoskeletal system. Furthermore, the postural muscles including the hamstring and gastroc-soleus were examined for finding any shortness.

Results: The prevalence of cervical lordosis (22.6% vs. 6.1%), forward head posture (24.1% vs. 9.1%) and thoracic kyphosis (27.8 % vs. 7.6%) was significantly higher in girls than in boys. The prevalence of cervical lordosis, FHP, thoracic kyphosis, and genu varum increased with age; in the case of genu valgum, the situation was reversed. Genu varum was almost twice as frequent in girls as in boys (44.4% vs. 25.8%; p<0.01), while the genu valgum was more frequent (p<0.001) in boys than in girls (13.6 and 2.8, respectively). No significant age or gender-dependent differences were found for hamstring shortness (29%), gastroc-soleus shortness (21%), genu recurvatum (22%), and hallux valgus (31%).

Conclusions: Faulty posture and lower limb deformities were highly prevalent in school children in this rural region. More attention should be paid to implementing school-based screening programs aimed at early detection of any musculoskeletal-related abnormalities and taking preventive steps to reduce their negative consequences.

Study aim: To assess the effect of one term of stretching exercise on primary dysmenorrhea in high school students.

Material and methods: 179 single girls aged 15-17 years with moderate-to-severe primary dysmenorrhea were selected from 6 high schools located in 2 different city zones. The students were non-athletes and volunteered for the study. The participants were randomly divided into 2 groups: an experimental group (n = 124) and a control group (n = 55). In the intervention group, the subjects were requested to complete an active stretching exercise for 8 weeks (3 days per week, 2 times per day, 10 minutes each time) at home. In the pre-test, all of subjects were examined for pain intensity (10-point scale), pain duration, and the use of sedative tablets in 2 continuous menstruation cycles. The posttest was examined 8 weeks later.

Results: After 8 weeks, pain intensity was reduced from 7.65 to 4.88, pain duration was decreased from 7.48 to 3.86 hours, and use of sedative tablets was decreased from 1.65 to 0.79 tablets in the experimental group (p<0.05). In the control group, a significant decline was only noted for pain duration (p<0.001).

Conclusions: Stretching exercises are effective in reducing pain intensity, pain duration, and the amount of painkillers used by girls with primary dysmenorrhea.