Professor Andrzej Zembaty (1935-2022) - Visionary and Co-founder of Polish Physiotherapy.

Based on an analysis of source materials from the private collection of the Zembaty family, the Medical Library of the Marian Weiss Rehabilitation Center in Konstancin, articles from daily press, and a few publications, we present the professional career, and academic and organizational activities of the late Professor Andrzej Zembaty (1935-2022), Doctor Habilitatus in Physical Culture Studies. While working at the Capital City Rehabilitation Center in Konstancin (Stoleczne Centrum Rehabilitacji), he served as an assistant to and close collaborator of Professor Marian Weiss. Affiliated with the Warsaw University of Physical Education for many years, he was known as a scholar, demanding teacher, author of well-known textbooks, and organizer of physiotherapy education. His vision of the professional development and role of physiotherapists in healthcare was realized only after the enaction of the Physiotherapist Profession Act. He undoubtedly ranks among the pioneers and founders of Polish physiotherapy.

Expectations of Patients Recovering from SARS-CoV-2 towards New Forms of Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of patients attending an innovative technology-enhanced pulmonary rehabilitation program of National Health Found Program in Poland. The study included two groups of patients participating in post-COVID-19 stationary rehabilitation. Patients from group I (127 individuals) contracted COVID-19 in 2020, while patients from group II fell ill in 2021 (68 individuals). The study used a self-administered questionnaire. This study was designed as an acceptability study. In the experience related to COVID-19 in both groups of the respondents, the possibility of undertaking inpatient rehabilitation in a hospital ward played an important and positive role. Patients who experienced COVID-19 symptomatically expected that rehabilitation would eliminate the related dysfunctions, such as reduced respiratory efficiency of the lungs, disorders of the nervous system, and cognitive disorders (the so-called brain fog). All respondents who experienced symptomatic COVID-19 positively assessed the rehabilitation program offered. Among the highest-rated rehabilitation, elements were identified: exercise on a cycle ergometer implemented with video stimulation, group fitness exercises, and breathing exercises. Other innovative forms of rehabilitation were positively evaluated by 10% to 25% of patients.

The impact of the epidemic of Heine-Medina disese on the development of rehabilitation in Poland.

The work presents pioneering activities of Polish orthopedists in the interwar period who were the first to propose methods of surgical and physical treatment of the effects of poliomyelitis. It also discusses the activities undertaken by the Ministry of Health and the National Rehabilitation Specialist, prof Wiktor Dega, in the early 1950s in order to fight the effects of the Heine-Medin disease epidemic in Poland. They worked on the creation of a network of rehabilitation centres throughout the country, training of medical personnel, development of uniform procedures that would provide the patient with appropriate treatment in the acute state of the disease and during the following years of its consequences. In addition to treating, it was possible for the sick children to get a profession that would allow them to start working. The authors show that dealing with the effects of Heine-Medin disease had a significant impact on the development of rehabilitation in Poland.