A goal leading to improving motion analysis and therapy

Physical fitness assessment is one of the key elements of planning and implementation of activities in the field of sport, physical education and rehabilitation. The results obtained during it allow for safe and effective planning of further activities.  

Physical fitness is understood as “the totality of human abilities and skills enabling the effective performance of all motor tasks”. Such a broadly understood efficiency of the body consists of, among others, such elements as cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength and endurance, body composition, flexibility, balance, agility, coordination, reaction time and power. A certain level of physical fitness is one of the factors determining effective operation in the environment, allows you to perform everyday activities effectively and with the least effort, and also allows you to stay healthy. 

Among the numerous theories on physical fitness, the concept of health-related fitness (H-RF) deserves special attention in the context of people with disabilities. According to it, the goal of physical fitness is “positive health conditioning a low risk of health problems. Achievements, on the other hand, are aimed at the ability to engage in daily tasks with adequate energy and satisfying participation in selected sports”. 

People with intellectual disabilities generally have lower levels of physical fitness compared to their peers in the intellectual norm, which can lead to greater difficulty in performing basic motor skills and potentially result in a poorer quality of life. 

Delay in the development of individual components of physical fitness in people with intellectual disabilities may be directly related to factors causing disability, as well as to more often co-occurring in this group posture defects, deformations in the skeletal system, metabolic disorders, obesity, congenital heart defects, impairment of one of the senses, as well as muscle tone disorders. The results of the research indicate the dependence of physical fitness not only on the IQ, but also on the motor activity undertaken. 

There is currently no global analysis of the physical activity of people with disabilities, but available data show that among people with intellectual disabilities, as many as 58-89% do not meet the recommendations for physical activity. Thus, they are more likely to suffer from serious health problems related to inactivity than the general population. Low levels of physical activity have long been recognized as a major risk factor for the development of major non-communicable diseases, including type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and some cancers, and is also recognized as the fourth leading risk factor for mortality, with an estimated three million deaths per year worldwide.   

There is no evidence that physical activity is inadvisable in the group of people with disabilities. However, a positive effect of physical activity on cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, functional skills and psychosocial well-being in people with both physical and cognitive disabilities has been demonstrated.  

In this lesson you will learn about how to assess the physical fitness of a person with intellectual disabilities, how to conduct and interpret tests assessing individual components of physical fitness to support a person with intellectual disability in undertaking systematic physical activity.  

Additionally available in the e-manual:  

Components of physical fitness according to the concept of health-related fitness (H-RF]