The aim of the paper was to determine a correlation between the weight of a child's backpack, their body weight, and certain features of their body posture. Material and Methods. The study group consisted of 109 children, all aged seven years. The parameters of body posture were determined using the Zebris Ultrasonic System. Results. The number of children carrying a school backpack in accordance with recommendations was 44 subjects (40.37%). Statistically significant changes were found in the total length of the spine (Z = 2.223, p = 0.026) and between backpack weight and changes in the following parameters: the total length of the spine (r s = −0.3999, p = 0.017), the length and the angle of the lumbar lordosis (r s = −0.3352, p = 0.049), the angle of the lumbar lordosis (r s = −0.5065, p = 0.002), and the sacral angle (r s = −0.4279, p = 0.010). Conclusions. Wearing a backpack heavier than 10% of one's body weight can cause shallowing of the lumbar lordosis and a tendency towards a vertical position of the sacrum. Monitoring the weight of children's school backpacks and enabling them to leave books and notebooks at school would probably be beneficial in reducing the daily burden put on children's spines.

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StreszczenieWstęp: Mała aktywność ruchowa, częste przebywanie w pozycji siedzącej i obciążenia szkolne sprawiają, że wady postawy ciała stały się zjawiskiem powszechnym.Cel pracy. Głównym celem pracy jest określenie czy istnieje związek między równowa-gą ciała, a wadami postawy w obrębie tułowia u dzieci w wieku wczesnoszkolnym.Materiał i metody: Do badań włączono 104 uczniów: 46 chłopców i 58 dziewczynek w klasach I -III. Do oceny postawy ciała wykorzystano System Zebris z oprogramowaniem WinSpine 2.3, a do oceny równowagi wykorzystano platformę Zebris PDM.Wyniki: W badaniach własnych uzyskano niskie korelacje. Dodatkowo stwierdzono pozytywny związek prawostronnej skoliozy ze średnim odchyleniem środka nacisku stóp w płaszczyźnie czołowej.Wnioski: Stwierdzono brak lub niskie korelacje pomiędzy parametrami postawy ciała, a parametrami równowagi ciała w badanej grupie. Słowa kluczowe:postawa ciała, stabilność posturalna, wady postawy, dzieci AbstractIntroduction: Low level of physical activity, frequent and long lasting sitting position and higher educational requirements make the postural defects more common.The main purpose of this thesis was to define the connection between body balance and postural defects in the body trunk.Material and methods: The examined group consisted of 104 Elementary School pupils: 46 boys and 56 girls in classes I-III. Zebris System with software WinSpine 2.3 was used to examine the body posture; to assess the balance Zebris PDM platform was used.Results: The correlation between the increase of right-sided scoliosis and the increase in the average deviation measure of the foot pressure in the frontal plane was observed.Conclusions: The lack of or low correlations between body posture and balance parameters in examined group were stated.

STRESZC ZE NIE Wstęp. Me to da fo to gra me trycz na oraz po mia ry in kli no me trycz ne są czę sto sto so wa ny mi spo so ba mi oce ny przed nio -tyl nych krzy wizn krę go słu pa. Me to dy te wy ko rzy sty wa ne są do pro wa dze nia ba dań kli nicz nych, jak i przesie wo wych. Ce lem pra cy jest po rów na nie pa ra me trów opi su ją cych krzy wi zny przed nio -tyl ne krę go słu pa w po miarze me to dą fo to gra me trycz ną i in kli no me trycz ną.Ma te riał i me to dy. Do ba dań włą czo no 341 dzie ci (169 dziew czy nek i 172 chłop ców) w wie ku 4-9 lat ze szkół pod sta wo wych i przed szko li gmi ny Rze szów. U ka żde go z ba da nych wy ko na no po miar krzy wizn przed nio -tyl nych krę go słu pa metodą inklinometryczną oraz me to dą fo to gra me trycz ną.Wy ni ki. W po rów na niu ką ta α w ba da niu in kli no me trycz nym i fo to gra me trycz nym wy ka za no ró żni ce istot ne staty stycz nie w te ście t -Stu den ta (p=0,017) oraz Fi she ra Sne de co ra (p=0,0001). Po dob nie w przy pad ku ką ta β, gdzie test t -Stu den ta (p=0,0001) oraz Fi she ra Sne de co ra (p=0,007) wy ka zu je istot ne ró żni ce w po mia rze ką ta obie ma meto da mi. W przy pad ku ką ta γ wy ka za no ró żni ce po mię dzy po mia ra mi w te ście t -Stu den ta (p=0,0001), na to miast ró -żnic istot nych sta ty stycz nie nie wy ka za no w te ście Fi she ra Sne de co ra (p=0,22).Wnio ski. 1. Po miar na chy le nia po szcze gól nych od cin ków krę go słu pa wy ko na ny me to dą fo to gra me trycz ną i in klino me trycz ną na tej sa mej gru pie wy ka zu je ró żni ce istot ne sta ty stycz nie. 2. Po mia ry wy ko na ne me to dą fo to gra metrycz ną i in kli no me trycz ną nie mo gą być po rów ny wa ne po mię dzy so bą. 3. Ba da nia nad zgod no ścią po mia rów krzy wizn przed nio -tyl nych krę go słu pa z wy ko rzy sta niem do stęp nej apa ra tu ry po mia ro wej wy ma ga ją po sze rze nia i kon ty nu acji.Słowa kluczowe: postawa ciała, metoda fotogrametryczna, inklinometr SUMMARY Background. The photogrammetric method and inclinometer-based measurements are commonly employed to assess the anteroposterior curvatures of the spine. These methods are used both in clinical trials and for screening purposes. The aim of the study was to compare the parameters used to characterise the anteroposterior spinal curvatures as measured by photogrammetry and inclinometry.Material and methods. The study enrolled 341 subjects: 169 girls and 172 boys, aged 4 to 9 years, from kindergartens and primary schools in Rzeszów. The anteroposterior spinal curvatures were examined by photogrammetry and with a mechanical inclinometer.Results. There were significant differences in the α angle between the inclinometric and photogrammetric assessment in the Student t test (p=0.017) and the Fisher Snedecor test (p=0.0001), with similar differences in the β angle (Student's t p=0.0001, Fisher Snedecor p=0.007). For the γ angle, significant differences were revealed with Student's t test (p=0.0001), but not with the Fisher Snedecor test (p = 0.22).Conclusions. 1. Measurements of i...

In Poland, like in other developed countries, 6.3% of babies are born prematurely. Preterm babies suffer from numerous health issues. The aim of the study was to assess body adiposity in preterm children at the beginning of school age. The study population consisted of 61 children aged 5 to 8 years who had been born preterm. We performed standard anthropometric measurements according to internationally recognized methodology. The following parameters were used: Body Weight (BW), Body Heigh (BH), Waist Circumference (WC), Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist to Height Ratio (WtHR), Triceps Skinfold Thickness (TST), Subscapular Skinfold Thickness (SST), Umbilical Skinfold Thickness (UST), as well as total sum of the above parameters, or the Global Adiposity (GA). The anthropometric measurements were taken according to international anthropometric methodology. All anthropometric parameters for body adiposity were significantly lower in the study population than in the reference system. We found a statistically significant relationship between: the number of fetuses and: UST (p = 0.007) and z-score UST (p = 0.030); combined number of unfavorable perinatal events: and UST (p = 0.013) and z-score UST (p = 0.007), GA (p = 0.038) and z-score GA (p = 0.040). Preterm children who are about to start school have significantly lower values of anthropometric features that characterize their body adiposity. In preterm children at early school age number of fetuses diversifies UST; and combined number of unfavorable perinatal events diversifies UST and GA. It is recommended that more studies are conducted on positively oriented modification of body adiposity in these children, as well as its long term monitoring.

Introduction: Morbidity and mortality attributed to lung cancer remain at high levels, especially where men are concerned. The surgery for lung cancer involves removing neoplastic lesions in order to save the largest possible part of the healthy lung. Of importance is also pre-and post-surgical rehabilitation. The aim of this thesis is to gauge the quality of life of the patients who have had their lung cancer surgically removed. Material and methods: The study was conducted on 72 patients (52 men and 20 women) after surgical removal of lung cancer. The subjects were examined prior to, a week after and six months following surgery. The investigation employed the standardised questionnaires to assess the quality of life, i.e. EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-LC13, as well as the visual analogue pain scale (VAS). Statistical analyses were performed using the Anova Friedman test and Dunna test, and p-value calculated in multiple comparisons with significance level assumed at p < 0.05. Results: During six months after the operation, the quality of life deteriorated in relation to the one before operation as evidenced by the functioning scale at the level of p < 0.001. Overall symptom scale, as well as symptomatic scale and the VAS scale showed that some symptoms increased significantly in the early period after surgery p < 0.001, then with the passage of time, the patients felt improvement, however, some of them, e.g. pain sensations can persist till six months after surgery. Conclusions: Surgical removal of lung cancer is associated with a significant deterioration of the quality of life in the early period after surgery and can persist till six months later.

BackgroundHumans are exposed to various stimuli which lead to somatic modifications and changes in body posture, negatively affecting many of its characteristics. The purpose of this study was to assess significant alterations which occurred in selected morphological features and spinal curvatures in children and adolescents over a period of 40 years.Material/MethodsThe total of 7041 subjects, aged 4–18 years (mean age 11.3 years) were included in the study, which was designed to compare measurements performed in year 1959 (Group 1, n=3235 individuals) and in year 2003 (Group 2, n=3806 individuals). The children were examined for body height, body mass, as well as thoracic and lumbar curvatures. In 1959, the measurements were carried out using a spherodorsimeter, while in 2003, the CQ System photogrammetry was used, producing corresponding results. The Mann-Whitney U test and the Student’s t-test were used for statistical analysis.ResultsThe findings showed a significant decrease in the angle of lumbar lordosis and in sacral inclination as well as an increase in body height and mass, particularly in prepubertal children. On the other hand, the angle of thoracic kyphosis and the partial angles of physiological spinal curvatures changed only to a small degree over the 40-year period.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence related to changes which occurred during the relevant period of over 40 years, namely a decrease in both the angle of lumbar lordosis and the sacral inclination angle, as well as an increase in body height and mass. These changes should be taken into consideration in selecting norms and standards applied in healthcare services, and the findings suggest it is necessary to regularly update such standards.

This study was designed to assess how the results obtained for three different posturographic platforms agreed with each other in an assessment of static postural stability. The study included 111 young healthy participants. A measurement of postural stability was made for each participant, with their eyes open and then closed, on each platform in a random order. The Romberg ratio, path length, and center of pressure (COP) area were analyzed. For all measures, significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed among the three force plates. The highest Spearman's rank correlation was observed between Alfa vs. CQStab2P (0.20 to 0.38), and the lowest between Alfa vs. AccuGait (−0.19 to 0.09). Similar results were obtained for the concordance correlation coefficient (0.10 to 0.22 for Alfa vs. CQStab2P and −0.6 to 0.02 for Alfa vs. AccuGait). Bland–Altman analysis for values standardized (z-scores) against AccuGait indicated a low level of agreement between compared platforms, with the largest error between AccuGait vs. Alfa, and a slightly lower error between AccuGait vs. CQStab2P or Alfa vs. CQStab2P. The 95% limits of agreement ranged from 2.38 to 7.16 (Alfa vs. AccuGait), 2.09 to 5.69 (CQStab2P vs. AccuGait), and 1.39 to 7.44 (AccuGait vs. Alfa) in COP length with eyes open and COP length Romberg ratio, respectively. Special care is recommended when comparing values relating to COPs from different devices that are analyzed by different software. Moreover, unperturbed stance tests among young healthy adults can be questioned as a valid postural control parameter.