Tomislav Okičić

The Effect of Aquatic Intervention on the Gross Motor Function and Aquatic Skills in Children with Cerebral Palsy

The Effect of Aquatic Intervention on the Gross Motor Function and Aquatic Skills in Children with Cerebral Palsy The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of an aquatic intervention on the gross motor function and aquatic skills of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Twenty-nine children with CP, aged 5 to 14, were recruited. Fourteen children completed an aquatic intervention (EG), and 13 children served as controls (CG). Two participants dropped out due to events (illness) unrelated to the intervention. The aquatic intervention lasted 6 weeks (2 sessions per week at 55 minutes per session) with a follow-up period of 3 weeks. The outcome measures were the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) for motor function and the Water Orientation Test Alyn 2 (WOTA 2) for aquatic skills assessment. A significant improvement was observed in the secondary assessment of GMFM and WOTA 2. In contrast to the aquatic skills improvement, the GMFM change was not maintained at follow-up. Our results indicate that children with CP can improve gross motor function on dry land and aquatic skills with a 6-week water intervention. The intervention period was too short for sustainable improvement in dry-land motor skills after intervention (followup), but time was sufficient to achieve sustainable improvements in aquatic skills.

Differences in the Efficiency Between the Grab and Track Starts for Both Genders in Greek Young Swimmers

Differences in the Efficiency Between the Grab and Track Starts for Both Genders in Greek Young Swimmers The aim of this study was to determine the differences in the kinematic parameters between the grab and track starts and the differences in these two starts between genders. A total of 27 swimmers at the competitive level participated in the study, 13 boys (mean ± SD: age 15.8 ± 0.8 years, body mass 67.7 ± 7.7 kg and body height 178.6 ± 5.7 cm) and 14 girls (mean ± SD: age 16 ± 0.8 years, body mass 59.2 ± 6.6 kg and body height 166.2 ± 6.7 cm). Each swimmer performed three attempts for both start techniques. The best attempt of the grab start and the track start was taken for further analysis. The following kinematic parameters were analysed: flight distance, flight time, flight velocity, entry angle and reaction time. The males had greater numeric values for the results in all kinematic parameters for the grab start compared with the track start, except for flight velocity and entry angle (flight time 0.42 vs. 0.41 s, flight distance 3.21 vs. 3.14 m, flight velocity 7.76 vs. 7.83 m/s, entry angle 44.22 vs. 43.85 degrees and reaction time 0.86 vs. 0.81 s). The females also had greater numeric values for the results in all kinematic parameters for the grab start compared with the track start, except for flight time (flight time 0.38 vs. 0.38 s, flight distance 2.82 vs. 2.73 m, flight velocity 7.47 vs. 7.31 m/s, entry angle 45.18 vs. 44.79 degrees and reaction time 0.88 vs. 0.82 s). These results indicate that the males had significantly better results for flight time and flight distance compared with the females for the grab start (flight time 0.42 vs. 0.38 s, flight distance 3.21 vs. 2.82 m). In the case of the track start, the males had significantly better results for flight distance (3.14 vs. 2.73 m). Exploring the characteristics of the two starts did not lead to any significant kinematic differences. Therefore, a conclusion that demonstrates the superiority of one of the techniques cannot be reached. The coach, together with each swimmer individually, should devote some time to decide after some tests what type of start is better for the body type and general qualifications of the swimmer.

relacije bazičnih i sPecifičnih motoričkih sPosobnosti sa rezultatima Plivanja u Prsnoj tehnici kod mladih Plivača

Cilj trenažnog procesa u plivanju je razvoj onih antropoloskih karakteristika i sposobnosti od kojih najvise zavisi rezultat. Cilj ovog rada je utvrditi uticaj određenih bazicnih i specificnih motorickih sposobnosti na rezultate u disciplini 100 m prsno kod mladih plivaca. Uzorak ispitanika je cinilo 30 plivaca starosti od 9 do 12 godina koji pripadaju kategoriji mlađih pionira. Prediktorski skup je cinilo 8 varijabli za procenu bazicnih i 6 za procenu specificnih motorickih sposobnosti. Kao kriterijumska varijabla koriscen je rezultat plivanja u disciplini 100 metara prsno u velikom bazenu. Rezultati regresionih analiza su pokazali da u celini oba seta primenjenih varijabli imaju znacajnu korelaciju sa rezultatima u disciplini 100 metara prsno. Posmatrano pojedinacno nijedna varijabla nema statisticki znacajan uticaj. Tako dobijeni podaci ukazuju da u trenažnom procesu sa mlađim kategorijama treba stvoriti optimalne uslove za razvoj svih motorickih sposobnosti koje mogu imati uticaj na plivacku efikasnost u prsnoj tehnici.