Hand-eye coordination, movement reaction time and hand tactile sensitivity depending on the practiced sports discipline.

BACKGROUND: Practicing competitive sports, particularly those disciplines in which the upper limbs are involved in the movement, develops physical fitness and its special feature, namely the hand-eye coordination. Some sport disciplines require manipulation of an object. Using a sport equipment every day, several times, during training and matches must affect the characteristics of the skin of the palmar side of the hand. It may be presumed to affect the tactile sensitivity of the skin. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between hand-eye coordination and tactile sensitivity in basketball, volleyball, handball, football and combat sports players as compared to those who do not practice competitive sports. METHODS: Overall, 121 men were subject to tests. The tactile sensitivity threshold was determined at three points of the palmar side of the hand using The Touch-Test™ Sensory Evaluators esthesiometer. The second test involved hand-eye coordination of the upper limbs and it was carried out using cross-type machine. RESULTS: The greatest tactile sensitivity was shown in combat sports players. These players also demonstrated the shortest reaction time and the lowest number of errors in the motor coordination test. The correlation between tactile sensitivity and coordination was found to be the strongest in subjects not practicing sports. CONCLUSIONS: The most interesting finding is that in the group of athletes using hands (team sports games and combat sports) the correlation between movement coordination and tactile sensitivity is weaker.

Tactile Sensitivity of Women with Turner Syndrome.

Physical manifestations of Turner syndrome include short stature, a webbed neck, and a shield chest with widely spaced nipples. An aspect of the disease which has not been sufficiently explored so far is the tactile sensitivity of Turner syndrome patients. Thus, the aim of the study was to assess the threshold of tactile sensitivity on hands and feet of women suffering from Turner syndrome. Information on the participants of the study was collected on the basis of questionnaires, as well as anthropometric measurements using a skinfold caliper. Semmes-Weinstein Aesthesiometer was used to find the tactile sensitivity threshold of hands and feet of study participants. Based on the results of the study, significant differences in tactile sensitivity between women with Turner syndrome and healthy women were found. Affected women seem be more sensitive to the touch on the feet than healthy volunteers. The results of the study showed that the tactile sensitivity of women with Turner syndrome is different from that of healthy women.

The physiotherapeutic context of loss of dominant arm function due to occupational accidents.

INTRODUCTION: The study examines the problem of dominant arm function loss in rural adult patients due to work-related accidents. The types of risks involved in farmyard work include falling from a height, manually moving loads, overturning/accident whilst driving an agricultural tractor, noise and vibration, use of pesticides, and the risk of being cut or injured. The study focuses on adaptation of the non-dominant arm. OBJECTIVE: The main aim of the study was evaluation of visual-motor coordination on the basis of performance of the non-dominant hand in patients after the loss of function of the dominant arm. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The research sample consisted of 52 patients with a permanent or temporary loss of function or severely limited function of the dominant arm. The subjects were patients with arm amputations due to various occupational injuries sustained while operating agricultural and construction machinery and forestry equipment, following traumas or complicated medical surgeries of the arm, or due to car accidents. The following tests were applied in the analysis: I) Dufour cross-shaped apparatus test for assessing visual motor-coordination; II) paper-and-pencil tests and the Relay Baton motor fitness test; III) anthropometric measurements; IV) Edinburgh Handedness Inventory; and V) a questionnaire survey. RESULTS: The results of the apparatus and motor tests indicate the same tendency: reaction to stimuli measured on the basis of performance of the non-dominant arm is longer in shorter and older patients. CONCLUSIONS: Visual-motor coordination, as measured by the performance of the non-dominant arm, is significantly affected by the subject's body height and arm length.

Tactile sensitivity on the hands skin in rheumatic patients.

INTRODUCTION: Clinical symptoms of rheumatic diseases can cause changes in the level of skin tactile sensitivity. AIM: To determine the tactile threshold of the hands in female patients with rheumatic diseases. It also attempted to determine correlations between rheumatic patients' tactile sensitivity and the degree of articular movement limitations, the Barthel Index (BI) and Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI) results, the level of disability of the right hand and the left hand as well as age, education and eyesight. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ninety-nine female rheumatic patients aged 19-87 years took part in the study. The control group comprised 45 healthy women aged 23-80 years. The measurement of the tactile threshold was performed using the Touch-Test™ Sensory Evaluators (Semmes-Weinstein Monofilaments Test). The tactile threshold was measured at three sites on the hand: the little finger, the index finger and the metacarpus. RESULTS: The patients' tactile sensitivity ranges were classified as normal, diminished light touch and diminished protective touch. The degree of their disability was correlated with tactile sensitivity. The patients' tactile sensitivity worsens with age, but it is not correlated with the level of education. The lateralization was similar to that of the control group and was not correlated with tactile sensitivity. The worsening eyesight, independent of rheumatic disease, corresponds, however, with decreasing tactile sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: The patients represented a group with a medium level of functional disability and lower tactile sensitivity.

Changes in selected parameters of swimming technique in the back crawl and the front crawl in young novice swimmers.

The study aimed to examine changes in selected angular characteristics and duration of the stroke cycle in the back crawl and the front crawl in children learning to swim. Nine boys and two girls, aged 8-13 years, performed seven consecutive swimming tests. The children's movement technique was recorded with the use of three video cameras. The studied parameters included the angle of incidence between the trunk long axis and the waterline, elbow angle, shoulders roll, stroke cycle duration and stroke length. The results illustrate the development of swimming technique in youth swimmers. The results of the present study indicate the variability and phasing of learning of swimming technique by children.

Assessment of postural balance function.

Postural balance is defined as the ability to stand unassisted without falling. Examination of the patient's postural balance function is a difficult diagnostic task. Most of the balance tests used in medicine provide incomplete information on this coordination ability of the human body. The aim of this study was to review methods of assessment of the patient's postural balance function, including various tests used in medical diagnostics centers.