PhD, Associate Professor I.E. Yudenko
Surgut State University, Surgut

Corresponding author: yudenko_ir@mail.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to assess the role of post-isometric physical exercises in pain management and improvement of physical fitness of female students with vertebrogenic dorsopathy engaged in health and fitness activities within a special health group.

Methods and structure of the study. The study was carried out at the premises of the Surgut State University and involved the Bachelor’s and Specialist’s degree course female students aged 19.8±3.5, who had been attributed to the special health group (n=31). The girls were divided into two groups: Experimental Group (n=15) and Control Group (n=16). All subjects were diagnosed with vertebral osteochondrosis accompanied by vertebrogenic dorsopathy.

The pain syndrome intensity and subjective sensations of the female students were estimated using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI); their physical fitness was rated in the tests developed for the special health group students and accepted at the Department of Physical Education. The descriptive statistics was collected using the Statistica V.10.0 package (p<0.05 was taken as a statistically significant difference).

The educational experiment was based on the analysis and evaluation of the organizational and methodological conditions for physical education of the special health group female students, as well as the effect of post-isometric physical exercises on their physical fitness rates.

The methodology of application of post-isometric physical exercises in EG (hereinafter, PIPE) was designed in such a way that the main load-related risks were eliminated during the training sessions: excess systolic and diastolic blood pressure - above 150 mmHg and 90 mmHg, respectively; increased heart rate.

During the exercises, the following were excluded: breath holding, sharp, maximum straining and simultaneous inclinations and circular movements in the cervical and lumbar spine, excessive motion amplitude and stretching of the active muscles

Conclusions. The findings proved the benefits of post-isometric physical exercises for pain management in application to the female students of the special health group. Pain relief made it possible to improve the trainees’ physical fitness level. The physical fitness rates in the Experimental Group after the experiment differed statistically significantly from the baseline in terms of three out of five indicators.

Keywords: special health group, female students, vertebrogenic dorsopathy, post-isometric physical exercises.

Background. The World Health Organization reports that up to 80% of the world population suffers from various locomotor diseases and that the number of young people with various functional and spine disorders has increased to 67% [1, 2]. Vertebrogenic dorsopathy is a pain syndrome in the spine region caused by functional and degenerative-dystrophic changes in the spine and intervertebral disks. All its manifestations entail intolerable physical and emotional suffering for young people, as well as considerable material expenses involved in long-term rehabilitation [4]. The etiology and pathogenesis of vertebrogenic dorsopathy in adults have been studied well enough; there are standard diagnostic algorithms, combination treatment protocols, orthopedic alignment and operative treatment methods [2]. However, back pain in student youth is still poorly studied and there is a lack of systematic monitoring from the perspective of physical rehabilitation.

Objective of the study was to assess the role of post-isometric physical exercises in pain management and improvement of physical fitness of female students with vertebrogenic dorsopathy engaged in health and fitness activities within a special health group.

Methods and structure of the study. The study was carried out at the premises of Surgut State University and involved the Bachelor’s and Specialist’s degree course female students aged 19.8±3.5, who had been attributed to the special health group (n=31). The girls were divided into two groups: EG (n=15) and CG (n=16). All subjects were diagnosed with vertebral osteochondrosis accompanied by vertebrogenic dorsopathy.

The pain syndrome intensity and subjective sensations of the female students were estimated using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI); their physical fitness was rated in the tests developed for the special health group students and accepted at the Department of Physical Education. The descriptive statistics was collected using the Statistica V.10.0 package (p<0.05 was taken as a statistically significant difference).

The educational experiment was based on the analysis and evaluation of the organizational and methodological conditions for physical education of the special health group female students, as well as the effect of post-isometric physical exercises on their physical fitness rates.

The methodology of application of post-isometric physical exercises in EG (hereinafter, PIPE) was designed in such a way that the main load-related risks were eliminated during the training sessions: excess systolic and diastolic blood pressure - above 150 mmHg and 90 mmHg, respectively; increased heart rate [5].

During the exercises, the following were excluded: breath holding, sharp, maximum straining and simultaneous inclinations and circular movements in the cervical and lumbar spine, excessive motion amplitude and stretching of the active muscles [3]. In other words, the exercises were designed so that not to provoke pain and to reduce the possibility of aggravation of the chronic disease. The total duration of the PIPE series to be performed during the training session was 25 minutes, the exercises were included in the main part of the lesson and applied as a single set in such a way that all the muscle groups susceptible to vertebrogenic dorsopathy were developed sequentially. Given in Table 1 is a suggested list of PIPE.

Table 1. Suggested list of post-isometric physical exercises for pain management

Results and discussion. The application of the Oswestry Low Back Pain Questionnaire made it possible to determine the degree of disability caused by the back problems and pain intensity. According to the questionnaire survey results, out of 15 EG female students, 40% had "severe" pain, 27% - "very intense" pain, 20% - "moderate" pain, 13% - "mild" pain (see the figure).

Fig. 1. Dynamics of pain sense in EG based on Oswestry Low Back Pain Questionnaire before and after experiment (n=15)

The situation changed with the introduction of the PIPE series in EG. Out of the total number of female students, 20% reported "severe" pain, 13% – "very intense" pain, 20% – "moderate" pain, while the number of trainees with "mild" pain increased significantly – 47% of the sample.

Thus, it can be argued that the post-isometric physical exercises had a pain relieving effect. It should be noted, however, that such an outcome can only be achieved if the exercises are performed correctly.

Given in Table 2 are the physical fitness rates of the girls participating in the experiment.

Table 2. Dynamics of physical fitness rates in female students throughout experiment (M±δ)

* – intra-group significance of differences, p<0.05.

The results obtained in the three following tests indicated statistically significant changes in EG (p<0.05): keeping the legs straight at a 45° angle in the initial back-lying position leaning on the bent arms – the result increased from 64.9±18.7 to 81.8±13.5 sec; arching backward from the front-lying position – the result increased from 134.7±18.7 to 152.3±21.4 sec; sit-ups with the knees bent and arms crossed on the chest – the result increased from 36.6±11.5 to 48.7±2.8 reps (statistically significant at p<0.05). Other criteria for the assessment of the female students' physical fitness level also improved, though slightly. In CG, all but two test rates increased; however, the changes were not statistically significant.

On average, all the studied indicators complied with the program-methodical requirements and corresponded to the "good-excellent" mark, which indicated a fairly high physical fitness level of the female students attributed to the special health group.

Conclusions. The findings proved the benefits of post-isometric physical exercises for pain management in application to the female students of the special health group. Pain relief made it possible to improve the trainees’ physical fitness level. The physical fitness rates in EG after the experiment differed statistically significantly from the baseline in terms of three out of five indicators.

References

1. Alekseev V.V. Diagnostics and treatment of acute lumbar pain. Consilium Medicum. 2009. V. 11. No. 2. pp. 42-46.
2. Klimova N.V. X-ray morphological features of lumbosacral osteochondrosis course. Vestnik SurGU. Meditsina: nauchno-prakticheskiy zhurnal. 2011. No. 9 (3). pp. 66-74.
3. Sitel A.B. Back without pain. How to relieve pain in muscles and joints. Moscow: Eksmo publ., 2015. 224 p.
4. Chelnokov V.A. Osteochondrosis of spine: prospects for use of physical exercises. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2005. No. 1. pp. 11-16.
5. Yudenko I.E. Organizational and methodological conditions of health-improving classes for female special health group students diagnosed with neurocirculatory dystonia (case study of Surgut universities). PhD diss. abstract: 13.00.04. Tyumen, 2002. 26 p.