Prevalence of generalised joint hypermobility in school-aged children from east-central European region.

BACKGROUND: There is no literature regarding joint mobility in children of the Central and Eastern Europe. Studies describing clinical characteristics and functional outcomes are still needed. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of generalised joint hypermobility (GJH) in the group of school-aged children from Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, in relation to different cut-off values of the Beighton score (BS), and to identify possible patients with joint hypermobility syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The representative sample of this study was calculated to be 760 subjects. A total of 778 children from different schools were screened for the mobility of joints. The medical examination included an assessment of joints' hypermobility according to the BS. The presence of specific signs (marfanoid habitus, antimongoloid slant and drooping eyelids) was assessed additionally. Parents of all involved children were asked to answer the questions developed based on the Brighton criteria regarding the medical history of children. RESULTS: The prevalence of GJH in school-aged children from Vilnius, depending on the BS cut-off value, was 19.2% (BS ≥ 4), 9.5% (BS ≥ 5) or 5.7% (BS ≥ 6). The increased range of mobility was most frequently detected in thumbs of school- -aged children. The frequency of hyperextension > 10o in knees was 7- to 8-fold lower than the frequency of hyperextension > 10o in a passive opposition of the thumb. The evaluation results were similar on the left and right sides in 87.4% cases of thumb opposition, 90.1% cases of hyperextension of 5th finger, 87.9% cases of elbow manoeuvres, and 94.8% attempts to hyperextend knee. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of GJH in school-aged children from Vilnius depends on the BS cut-off value and ranges from 5.7% to 19.2%.

Respiratory function dynamics in individuals with increased motor activity during standard exercise testing.

Functional diagnostics is one of the most important areas of sports medicine, which plays an increasingly role in selection of athletes, optimisation of training, early diagnostics and prophylaxis of sports pathology. Functional condition of the body undergoes constant changes under the influence of a number of factors. The differences may be considerable and pose problems related to the recruitment of athletes to teams in game sports and in individual sports. Physical ability is determined by the quality of external breathing and cardiovascular functions and by peculiarities of metabolism related to the tissue breathing and transport of substrates. In qualitative assessment of these phenomena one must relate the parameters of the individual's functional conditions to the required or desired values, i.e. norms. On the other hand, there exist no norms for a comprehensive evaluation of the Lithuanian persons' physical capacity and breathing system and metabolic function capacity including residents going in for sports. It is not clear whether one may rely upon the nomograms drawn up by foreign authors because they may not be applicable to Lithuanian athletes for a number of possible reasons: differences in training methods, regional cultural environment (differences in energy requirements in daily life), nutritional aspects, even demographic peculiarities taking into account limited assimilation level and small number of inhabitants. It has been established that the maximum oxygen uptake indicators reflecting the body's dynamic potential are different in elite athletes when evaluated during a standard ergo metric test. The aerobic capacity is determined by all links in the oxygen transport chain, since both heart rate (HR) and breathing indicators (VE-ventilation volume, PEF-peak expiratory flow and RR-respiratory rate) are characterised by equally good correlation with the oxygen uptake indicators and high determination coefficients (all r > 0.95, R2 > 95%, p < 0.01).