The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of hippotherapy (therapy with horses) on posture and body function among children with cerebral palsy. A case–control study included forty-five children aged 6–12 years, classified as Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level I or II, with spastic diplegia or hemiplegia. The participants were randomly divided into three groups: study I (n = 15), study II (n = 15) and control (n = 15). The children from the study groups attended 30min hippotherapy sessions for 12 consecutive weeks, twice (study group I) or once (study group II) a week. The Sitting Assessment Scale (SAS) was used. A comparison of SAS showed an improvement in almost all the assessed categories among the children who participated in hippotherapy. In study group I, statistically significant differences were noted in the assessment of head position control, arm function (in both cases, p = 0.012) and trunk control (p = 0.005) and in study group II in the assessment of trunk control (p = 0.028). Hippotherapy has a positive influence on the body posture and function of individual body parts in a sitting position among children with cerebral palsy.

STRESZCZENIEWstęp. Sa mo dziel ne funk cjo no wa nie dziec ka z mó zgo wym po ra że niem ogra ni czo ne jest wsku tek za bu rzeń kon tro li po sta wy cia ła. Naj lep szym roz wią za niem w uspraw nia niu kon tro li po sta wy są te ra pie, któ re po zwa la ją jed no cze śnie pra co wać nad zmysłem rów no wa gi i roz wi jać zdol no ści mo to rycz ne dziec ka. Ta kie mo żli wo ści w przy pad ku pa cjen tów z mó zgo wym po ra że niem da je na przy kład hi po te ra pia. Celem pra cy była oce na wpły wu hi po te ra pii na zdol ność utrzy ma nia rów no wa gi w po zy cji sie dzą -cej wśród dzie ci z mó zgo wym po ra że niem.Ma te riał i me to dy. W ba da niu wzię ło udział 39 dzie ci, za kwa li fi ko wa nych do I lub II po zio mu GMFCS, z roz po zna ną spastycz ną di ple gią lub he mi ple gią, w wie ku 6-12 lat. Uczest ni cy zo sta li po dzie le ni na dwie gru py: ba da ną (n=19) i kon tro l ną (n=20). Dzie ci z gru py ba da nej bra ły udział w 30-mi nu to wych za ję ciach hi po te ra pii raz w ty go dniu, przez okres 12 ty go dni. Do oce ny kon tro li po sta wy cia ła i rów no wa gi pa cjen ta w po zy cji sie dzą cej uży to ska li SAS (ang. Sit ting As ses sment Sca le).Wy ni ki. Pod czas ba da nia część dzie ci po pra wi ła swo ją rów no wa gę i po sta wę cia ła. Naj czę ściej po lep sza ło się usta wie nie tuło wia i gło wy, a ta kże kon tro la funk cji ra mion, na to miast naj słab sze oce ny przy zna wa no za kon tro lę pra cy stóp.Wnio sek. Hi po te ra pia ma po zy tyw ny wpływ na kon tro lę usta wie nia i pra cę po szcze gól nych czę ści cia ła, przez co po zwa la kształ to wać po sta wę i po pra wia zdol ność utrzy my wa nia rów no wa gi w po zy cji sie dzą cej, u dzie ci z mó zgo wym po ra że niem.Sło wa klu czo we: hi po te ra pia, mó zgo we po ra że nie dzie cię ce, rów no wa ga SUMMARYBackground. Cerebrally palsied children demonstrated limited independence while performing various activities of daily living, which is due to disorders of postural control. The best solution to improve postural con trol is the use of therapies that simultaneously focus on the sense of balance and motor skills. Such possibilities for patients with cerebral palsy are offered, for example, by hippotherapy.Objective. To assess the influence of hippotherapy on body balance in the sitting position among children with cerebral palsy. Material and methods. The study enrolled thirty-nine children aged 6-12 years with GMFCS level 1 or 2 spastic diplegia or spastic hemiplegia. The participants were divided into an intervention group (n = 19) and a control group (n = 20). Children from the intervention group attended 30 minutes of hippotherapy once weekly for 12 consecutive weeks. The Sitting Assessment Scale (SAS) was used to assess the patients' posture and balance.Results. Some children improved their posture and balance during the study. Generally, control of trunk and head position and function of arms were getting better, while footwork was the weakest.Conclusion. Hippotherapy has positive effects on the position and function of ind...

Background: The problem of spending most of the day in a sitting position concerns all people, regardless of their age. Unfortunately, this trend is more and more often observed among young people. The aim of the study was to assess self-reported physical activity and time spent sitting among students of different fields of health related faculty. Methods: The study group included 216 students (22.3 ± 1.8 years of age) of the Medical University of Lodz: physiotherapy students (n = 101), pharmacy students (n = 73), and dietetics students (n = 42). The time spent sitting and physical activity level were assessed based on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-long version. Results: The time spent sitting among health related faculty students was on average more than 46 h a week (2781.8 ± 1238.5 MET-minutes/week). Regarding all the students the pharmacy students spent most time sitting (3086.0 ± 1032.1 MET-minutes/week), while the dietetics students spent the least (2215.7 ± 1230.1 MET-minutes/ week). Taking into account the physical activity level almost 65% of all the students were in a high category (mainly physiotherapy students). Only 1.4% of all the surveyed students were classified as the low physical activity category. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences (P = 0.6880) between the time spent sitting and level of physical activity among all students. Conclusions: Students of medical universities spend too much hours on sitting, mostly 5-8 h a day. Despite this, they undertake various activities due to which their level of physical activity is moderate or even high. Therefore, it cannot be unequivocally stated that there is a relationship between the time spent sitting and physical activity level.

Objectives: When assessing physical activity (PA), particular attention should be paid to medical university students who are taught to be health care professionals (HCPs) responsible for maintaining health in humans. However, different studies have shown that HCPs exhibit the same unhealthy behaviors as the general population. This study analyzed PA among medical university students of different faculties and their adherence to current PA recommendations. Material and Methods: Data from 216 medical university students of physiotherapy, dietetics and pharmacy, including males (N = 44) and females (N = 172), the mean age of 22.3±1.8 years, were collected. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire in its long form (IPAQ-LF) was used to assess and classify PA behaviors. The results were analyzed in accordance with World Health Organization recommendations regarding PA. Results: Over 60% of all the students were classified as active during all-day activity. However, while analyzing PA in different domains, the same shares of all the students were still insufficiently active during leisure time, and so they did not meet the recommendation of >75 min/week of vigorous PA, >150 min/week of moderate PA or an equivalent combination. All the students self-reported PA mainly in the work and transport domains. Generally, physiotherapy students were the most active and performed PA with higher intensity. Conclusions: This study revealed a low level of leisure time PA among the students, and no habit of regular PA. Some changes in medical education should be suggested to include physical education as a long-term subject in medical school curricula. Future research is needed to investigate the exercise barriers that students perceive, which can guide future interventions aimed at improving their PA, and thereby impact on the quality of health care which they will provide.

Herbal supplements rich in phenolic compounds are evidenced to have a protective effect against cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, they are suggested to be included in diets for people with hypertension (HT). HT is a global health problem and is estimated to affect billions of people until the end of 2025. For this reason, every possible and effective solution preventing HT should be considered. The aim was to perform an updated meta-analysis and review of recently published studies to evaluate the effect of selected herbal supplements on blood pressure reduction. We searched the PubMed database with specified selection criteria, analysing the RCT studies from 2011 to 2021. A total of 31 studies were included in the analysis, and the meta-analysis was conducted on the data from 16 of them. The general effect size of all the supplements via placebo was d = 1.45, p < 0.05 for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and d = 0.31, p < 0.05 for diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The meta-analysis and review of the literature demonstrated that herbal supplements, such as resveratrol, cherry juice, beetroot juice, bergamot extracts, barberry, and pycnogenol, can be effective in blood pressure reduction and cardiovascular prevention, but attention should be paid to their appropriate dosage due to the possibility of side effects from the digestive system.

From year to year, practicing various sports by amateur athletes is becoming more and more popular. One of such sports is road cycling. To achieve very good sports performance athletes should pay attention not only to physical activity but also to proper nutrition and hydration of the body. The aim of the study was to assess amateur cyclists' dietary habits, especially nutrition and hydration, including assessment of the regularity of eating meals, type of consuming products and fluid intake preferences. The study recruited 41 men aged 23–75 years (43.76 ± 13.25) participating in amateur race road cycling. To obtain information about nutrition and hydration, an original questionnaire was used. Out of all participants, 65.9% declared that they pay attention to their diet, and as many as 75.6% indicated that they eat meals regularly. The vast majority (43.9%) of the cyclists declared consuming four meals a day. Most of the cyclists consumed meat products several times a week—73.2% and dairy products—43.9%. The participants most often chose only one portion of fruit (41.5%) and vegetables (31.7%) during the day. The vast majority of cyclists consumed 3 L of fluids on a training day—51.2%. It turned out that all of the athletes hydrated during training: before it was 68.3% and after training—92.7%. We conclude that the amateur cyclists pay a lot of attention to their nutrition and hydration. During the day, most athletes eat an appropriate amount of meals on a regular basis and drink the right amount of fluids. However, eating of dairy, fruits and vegetables, or hydrating before exercising is insufficient.

Background: The problem of spending most of the day in a sitting position concerns all people, regardless of their age. Unfortunately, this trend is more and more often observed among young people. The aim of the study was to assess self-reported physical activity and time spent sitting among students of different fields of health related faculty.Methods: The study group included 216 students (22.3±1.8 years of age) of the Medical University of Lodz: physiotherapy students (n=101), pharmacy students (n=73), and dietetics students (n=42). The time spent sitting and physical activity level were assessed based on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-long version. Results: The time spent sitting among health related faculty students was on average more than 46 hours a week (2781.8±1238.5 MET-minutes/week). Regarding all the students the pharmacy students spent most time sitting (3086.0±1032.1 MET-minutes/week), while the dietetics students spent the least (2215.7±1230.1 MET-minutes/week). Taking into account the physical activity level almost 65% of all the students were in a high category (mainly physiotherapy students). Only 1.4% of all the surveyed students were classified as the low physical activity category. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences ( P = 0.6880) between the time spent sitting and level of physical activity among all students.Conclusions: Students of medical universities spend too much hours on sitting, mostly 5-8 hours a day. Despite this, they undertake various activities due to which their level of physical activity is moderate or even high. Therefore, it cannot be unequivocally stated that there is a relationship between the time spent sitting and physical activity level.