Differences in the quality of life dependent on family status of the elderly living in rural areas - a cross-sectional survey.

INTRODUCTION: A factor that conditions the perception of the quality of life (QoL) is having a social network and relationships within it. The quality of life of seniors is assumed to be at a higher level if they are surrounded by those close to them in comparison to those living alone. The aim of the study was to assess differences in the quality of life of elderly rural residents depending on their family status. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Due to the random and mixed selection of respondents, the study comprised a group of 588 representatives living in rural areas of Eastern Poland. The differentiated criterion of the groups of senior respondents was their family situation: living with a family or living alone. Assessment of the quality of life was conducted by means of the WHOQoL-bref questionnaire. The Mann-Whitney tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to carry out statistical analysis of the data. RESULTS: The respondents who lived with their families differed statistically to a significant extent (p<0.005) from those who lived alone. The former gave a better assessment of the majority of the QoL domains: physical, psychological and social. Obtaining higher mean values for the environmental domain among the respondents living alone (M=14.31) seemed to be an atypical and interesting phenomenon because seniors living with their relatives usually assessed that dimension better than those living alone. CONCLUSIONS: The family situation of seniors affected the level of quality of life. Living with their relatives may be expected to be favourable for seniors because it translates into better performance in physical, psychological and social domains. Loneliness, which frequently accompanies old age, leads to the deterioration of the quality of life.

Impact of discopathic lumbosacral pain on body posture. A pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: Lumbosacral back pain is the most prevalent musculoskeletal condition. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of discopathic lumbosacral pain on displacement of the body's centre of gravity and foot-ground pressure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved 30 patients (20 females and 10 males) with discopathic lumbosacral pain at the L(4)-L(5) and L(5)-S(1) levels, who underwent physiotherapeutic rehabilitation in the Rehabilitation Centre in Zamosc. The mean age of the patients was 50.03 years ±16.15 (females - 47.5 ±16.8; males - 61.1 ±12.33). A Stability 2.0 stabilometric platform was used to assess the displacement of the body's centre of gravity and foot-ground pressure. RESULTS: The results revealed that the amplitude of centre of gravity displacement was significantly lower in the frontal plane than in the sagittal plane, irrespective of whether the test was performed with closed or open eyes. All study participants showed a predominance of posterior tilt. As regards deviations in the frontal plane, 66.67% of the patients favoured the right lower limb, while 33.33% put more weight on the left lower limb. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Discopathic lumbosacral pain influenced the displacement of the body's centre of gravity and the symmetry of lower extremity loading. 2. Physiotherapy in patients with discopathic lumbosacral pain should be aimed at restoring the body's displaced centre of gravity and ensuring symmetrical loading of the lower extremities.

Torque values of antagonistic muscles of the hipjoint. Pilot study.

BACKGROUND: The hip joint is a multiaxial articulation and the most mobile joint of the lower extremity. It can be subject to overloading by the repetition of a motor pattern produced by imbalanced muscle groups. OBJECTIVES: To determine mean torque values of the external forces acting on the hip joint in various age groups; to compare the relations between the torque values of antagonistic hip muscles; to correlate changes in mean torque values of the hip muscles with age. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study involved a group of 120 women aged 19-85 years divided into 6 age groups of 20 subjects each. The presence of knee or hip pathology was an exclusion criterion. The tests were carried out in the Zamosc Rehabilitation Department of CMPA in an SPB2-FM unit. RESULTS: The highest mean torque values for all muscle groups were seen in women aged 19-25 years. The values gradually decreased with age. CONCLUSIONS: 1. The SPB2-FM unit is an objective tool for evaluating torques of the hip muscles and makes it possible to monitor changes occurring in the process of rehabilitation, as well as to diagnose risks resulting from a decrease in hip muscle strength. 2. The present study of healthy subjects provides baseline data for further comparisons with patients suffering from hip pathology and preliminary input for determining reference values of pelvic girdle muscle strength.