SUMMARYBackground. Osteoporosis is a multifactorial progressive skeletal disorder characterized by reduced bone mass. Exercise is widely recommended to reduce osteoporosis, falls and related fragility fractures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of land exercise (LE) and aquatic exercise (AE) on physical function and bone mineral density (BMD).Material and methods. Fifty-eight postmenopausal women, aged 50-70 years, diagnosed with osteoporosis according to BMD measures, enrolled in this study. The subjects were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (LE group) or the control group (AE group). Physical function and BMD were assessed in all subjects in both groups before and after 10 months of intervention. Muscle strength, flexibility, balance, gait time and pain were measured to assess physical function. Bone mineral density at the lumbar spine was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).Results. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the baseline anthropometric data. The two groups were similar with respect to age, weight, height, and body mass index (p>0.05). After the exercise program, muscle strength, flexibility, gait time, pain, and bone density (p<0.001) improved significantly with LE compared to AE. There was no significant difference between the two groups with regard to balance at the 10-month follow-up.Conclusion. Significant improvements in physical function and BMD suggest that LE is a possible alternative for postmenopausal women with OP.

Objective -The aim of this study was to analyze the frequency of brachial palsy by gender, type, side, the newborn mother's parity and to identify its potential risk factors. Material and methods -Eighty-four newborn infants with brachial palsy were studied retrospectively at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo. The disease was confirmed by physical examination, neurological examination, and radiography. Results -The majority of newborns included in this study were male, with the Erb-Duchene type of brachial palsy. A greater number of newborn infants (70.2%) had sustained injuries to the right side. The most frequent occurrence was to the firstborn baby. Shoulder dystocia (39.3%), macrosomia (16.7%) and vaginal breech delivery (13.1%) were the most frequent potential risk factors identified in this study. The incidence of plexus brachial injury ranges from 1.8 to 3.35, depending on the ordinal number of the mother's delivery. The highest incidence is in mothers on their first-delivery, while the lowest is for those having the second child. The overall average incidence rate of brachial palsy is 2.62 per 1000 newborns. Conclusion -Our study has shown that the incidence of brachial plexus palsy is relatively high in newborns. Newborns with shoulder dystocia, macrosomia, and those born by vaginal breech delivery are at greater risk for brachial plexus palsy. Further research should be focused on the treatment and rehabilitation of children with brachial plexus palsy.

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Neurological complications after the supracondylar humerus fractures with a displacement of fragments result from traction, direct trauma, or nerve ischemia. The beginning of early rehabilitation, from when the arm is still immobilized, leads to complete restoration of the elbow joint, and thus any delay in starting the rehabilitation will have consequences, ranging from lighter ones to full disability. This study analyzed the impact of injured nerves, length of immobilization, and interruptions during rehabilitation on the rehabilitation duration (RD). A sample of 140 children of both genders with post-traumatic elbow injuries was considered, from the birth to 15 years. The sample was collected in cooperation with an orthopedist, pediatrician, and physiotherapist. The diagnosis was confirmed by physical and neurological examination and by radiography. The type of injury affects the RD. The supracondylar humerus fracture has a longer RD, with the average 85.45 days. We conducted the linear correlation test, between cases with injured nerves and cases without in relation to RD. The analysis provided significant statistical data (p < 0.01) proving that injured nerves are an important factor in RD. Of cases with radius nerve injury, 62.5% achieved full recovery. The analysis shows that for p < 0.01 (for cases in general) the immobilization duration has a significant impact on RD. Among patients who had no interruptions of rehabilitation, 92 achieved an excellent rehabilitation success, with an average number of 29.7 procedures and an average RD of 56 days. Injured nerves proved to have a great impact on the RD for elbow injuries, while not showing any impact on the rehabilitation success. Interruptions of rehabilitation treatments proved to have a statistical significance, meaning they have a high impact on the RD and success.