Michalina Błażkiewicz

Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw | AWF · Department of Physiotherapy

Background: Mediolateral perturbations caused by external pulling and pushing forces can occur in everyday living. Although the loss of balance can appear in all directions, coping with frontal plane perturbations is more challenging. In literature, it is common to compare postural responses between the elderly and the young, but the accurate descr...

Gait analysis may serve various purposes related to health care, such as the estimation of elderly people’s risk of falling. This paper is devoted to gait analysis based on data from depth sensors which are suitable for use both at healthcare facilities and in monitoring systems dedicated to household environments. This paper is focused on the comp...

The overhead press is a multi-joint exercise that has the potential to use a high external load due to the cooperation of many muscle groups. The purpose of this study was to compare the activity of shoulder and back muscles during the overhead press with a kettlebell and a dumbbell. Surface electromyography (EMG) for the anterior and posterior del...

Tissue flossing is an increasingly popular method in physiotherapy and sports. There is a belief that tissue flossing can improve range of motion and muscle strength, shorten muscle recovery time, and reduce the risk of injury. The aim of this study was to analyse the effectiveness of tissue flossing for immediately improving muscle strength in rec...

Background: Human motor systems contain nonlinear features. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the geometric structure of attractors and analyze recurrence in two different pirouettes (jazz and classic) performed by 15 professional dancers. Methods: The kinematics of the body's center of mass (CoM) and knee of the supporting leg (LKNE) du...

Total knee replacement (TKR) is the treatment of choice for advanced stages of osteoarthritis but it requires good postoperative rehabilitation. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of exercises using virtual reality to improve gait parameters in patients after TKR. Fifty-nine patients 7–14 days after TKR surgery were divided into a study g...

Primary osteoarthritis treatments such as a total hip (THR) or knee (TKR) replacement lead to postural control changes reinforced by age. Balance tests such as standing with eyes open (EO) or closed (EC) give a possibility to calculate both linear and nonlinear indicators. This study aimed to find the group of linear and/or nonlinear measures that...

Postural control is a term used to describe how the central nervous system regulates sensory information from other systems to produce adequate motor output to maintain a controlled, upright posture. Emotions (fear, anxiety) and thus personality type can affect the strategy of body control. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of personality on...

Purpose This study examined the use of nonlinear measures – sample entropy (SampEn), fractal dimension (FD), and the Lyapunov exponent (LyE) – to evaluate postural control in adults during standing on an unstable surface, with and without visual feedback. Methods 14 healthy young adults (24.07 ± 7.32 years) completed bipedal standing trials on an u...

This book contains fourteen chapters dealing with various aspects of the biomechanics of today. The topics covered are glimpses of what modern biomechanics can offer scientists, students, and the general public. We hope this book can be inspiring, helpful, and interesting for many readers who are not necessarily concerned with biomechanics daily.

Purpose: The symmetry of feet loading and adequate postural control are crucial aspects of proper squat performance. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of various stance widths during squat on postural control and symmetry of feet loading. Methods: Thirty healthy individuals participated in this study. Each participant performed one type of squ...

Study aim : To investigate the effect of wearing ski boots on kinematic and kinetic parameters of lower limbs during gait. Furthermore, loads in lower limb joints were assessed using the musculoskeletal model. Material and methods : The study examined 10 healthy women with shoe size 40 (EUR). Kinematic and kinetic data of walking in ski boots and b...

Background: Gait deviations may negatively affect the articular surfaces of the lower extremity joints and lead to some minor degenerative changes. The simplest method for gait evaluation is to assess the symmetry of its parameters, assuming that each undisturbed gait should be symmetrical. This study aims to quantify the degree of asymmetry of kin...

Osteoporosis is a prevalent health concern among older adults and is associated with an increased risk of falls that may result in fracture, injury, or even death. Identifying the risk factors for falls and assessing the complexity of postural control within this population is essential for developing effective regimes for fall prevention. The aim...

Optimal release variables, as well as the kinematics and kinetics of athletes, are crucial for the maximization of throwing distance in athletics. Mathematical models and simulations allow throwing techniques to be studied. However, muscle force patterns and the contribution of specific muscle groups in athletics throwing events are not well unders...

Exercises in virtual reality (VR) have recently become a popular form of rehabilitation and are reported to be more effective than a standard rehabilitation protocol alone. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of adjunct VR training in improving postural control in patients after total knee replacement surgery (TKR). Forty-two patients...

Purpose: The objective of this study was to analyze the muscle force distribution and lower limb joint loading during two types of pirouettes and check which muscle in which pirouette generates the highest force and which joint is the most loaded. Methods: Skilled dancers (n = 16) performed single-turn pirouettes in jazz and classic styles. Kine...

Conventional biomechanical analyses of human movement have been generally derived from linear mathematics. While these methods can be useful in many situations, they fail to describe the behavior of the human body systems that are predominately nonlinear. For this reason, nonlinear analyses have become more prevalent in recent literature. These ana...

Purpose: Yoga is known as a type of exercise that combines physical, mental and spiritual aspects. There has not been much research on the postural control in various yoga poses. The aim of this study was to examine CoP regularity in both yoga instructors and novices during the performance of four yoga poses, and to verify the sensitivity of linea...

Introduction. Dance and rhythmic gymnastics are high leap demanding sports. Leaps are fundamental human movements that require complex motor coordination of both the upper and lower body extremities. The aim of this study was to compare the kinetics parameters of two types of landing after performing front split leaps. Material and methods. Fifteen...

Background: It is known that cochlear implantation may alter the inner ear and induce vestibular disorders. Research question: How does cochlear implantation influence gait stability? Material and Methods. An experimental group of twenty-one subjects scheduled for cochlear implantation underwent gait testing twice, on the day before cochlear imp...

The goal of this paper is to demonstrate a comparison of EMG muscle activity of a subject who conducted two 4 min long rides on a manual wheelchair using push rims and lever drive. The tests were carried out on a mechanical treadmill which allowed for maintaining constant ride conditions regarding slope and velocity of the wheelchair. The resulting...

Purpose: Seeking a method to evaluate and monitor the performance of the shot put, discus and javelin throw, we analyzed the transfer of mechanical energy between body segments. Methods: The study was conducted on groups consisting of elite throwers on the Polish National Team for each of the aforementioned sport disciplines. The movements of ea...

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the activity of upper limb muscles during hand rim wheelchair propulsion and lever wheelchair propulsion at two different velocity levels. Methods: Twenty male volunteers with physical impairments participated in this study. Their task was to push a lever wheelchair and a hand rim wheelchair on a mec...

Background: Pathological movement patterns are characterized by abnormal kinematics, kinetics and muscle activations that alter the distribution of muscle forces during walking. Aim: The objective of this study was to identify what compensatory strategy is evident in muscle force distribution in patients with drop-foot, in response to weakness in t...

Background: Falls constitute an important health issue. They cause significant morbidity, mortality and have marked psychological effects on the individual, too. The aim of this study has been to determine parameters describing human movement strategies for balance and the reaction if balance is lost as a result of an unstable ground, and to attem...

Purpose: Simulating the complexities of lower limb motion can be useful for orthosis or rehabilitation planning. The aim of this study was to develop an artificial neural network (ANN) able to accurately simulate the changes in the angle of the ankle, knee and hip joints during the gait cycle, then to use it to simulate the impact of a restricted r...

Purpose: Sabre is one of the three disciplines in fencing, characterised by the use of a lightweight cutting weapon to score hits on an opponent while maneuvering for position with dynamic footwork. The aim of this study is concerned with the estimation of the load applied to the lower extremities during a step-forward lunge. Methods: The study...

Background: Little data exists regarding injury risk factors for professional basketball players. Athletes with poor dynamic balance or asymmetrical strength and flexibility are more likely to be injured. The patterns of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) place the athlete in positions where range of motion, stabilization, and balance deficits ma...

Background: To evaluate the long-term impact of preterm birth on respiratory function in female patients born preterm, we undertook spirometric examinations twice, as they reached the age of puberty, then follow-up examinations of part of the same cohort in adulthood. We sought evidence that preterm birth is correlated with poorer spirometric resu...

Muscle forces acting over the ankle joint play an important role in the forward progression of the body during gait. Yet despite the importance of ankle muscle forces, direct in-vivo measurements are neither possible nor practical. This makes musculoskeletal simulation useful as an indirect technique to quantify the muscle forces at work during loc...

Background: The aims of this study have been twofold: to attempt to reduce the number of spatiotemporal parameters used for describing gait through the factor analysis and component analysis; and to explore the critical age of decline for other gait parameters for healthy women. Material and methods: A total of 106 women (aged ≥ 40 years old (N...

Background. The complexity of the structure and function of a living body can be affected by disorders and can cause various dysfunctions. Objective. The aim of this study was to determine compensatory mechanisms in subjects with drop foot during gait. Methods. The study evaluated 10 subjects with drop foot (DF) whose results were compared to a gro...

Background: Drop foot is a complex syndrome, with multiple interactions between joints and muscles. Abnormalities in movement patterns can be measured using motion capture techniques, but identifying compensation mechanisms remains challenging. Methods: In order to identify compensatory mechanisms in patients with drop foot, this study evaluated...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to derive reference values for a four-level scale intended to evaluate variation in free gait asymmetry measurements in healthy subjects. Methods: This evaluation is based on kinetic values for the left and right lower limbs during gait, registered with advanced measurement systems and assessed using the sy...

The aim of this study was to analyse transfer of mechanical energy between body segments during the glide shot put. A group of eight elite throwers from the Polish National Team was analysed in the study. Motion analysis of each throw was recorded using an optoelectronic Vicon system composed of nine infrared camcorders and Kistler force plates. Th...

Study aim: Step aerobics is a form of aerobic power distinguished from other types of aerobic exercise by its use of an elevated platform. The purpose of this study was to examine how the aerobic exercise “knee up” affects kinematic and kinetic parameters and, above all, the length of the muscle contractions. Material and methods: The study analyse...

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of a vestibular-stimulating exercise regime on postural stability in individuals with visual impairment.The study group consisted of 70 people, including 28 persons (15 female and 13 male) with visual impairment and 42 (21 female and 21 male) without visual impairment. Each individual in the group with...

We investigated the impact of two consecutive training sessions on spirometric and anthropometric parameters in 23 older healthy women. Spirometric and anthropometric measurements were taken before the program, after a short high-intensity training program, and again after 12-week regular mild-intensity exercises. We found significant differences b...

Objectives: Determination of the phases in a stand-to-sit-to-stand task based on a derivative of the parameter with the lowest variance calculated based on the modified symmetry index. Material and methods: The study group comprised 11 healthy women and 11 healthy men from the University of Physical Education in Warsaw. The examination of the ki...

Although gait symmetry is being evaluated and reported in the literature with increasing frequency, there is still no generally accepted standard for assessing symmetry, making it difficult to compare studies and establish criteria to guide clinical decision-making. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether gait symmetry in healthy subject...

The aim of the study was to investigate bioelectrical activation of 8 muscles of a dominant lower limb. The examination consisted of 3 postural stability tests on the Balance System SD (Biodex) platform. Fourteen healthy subjects participated in the study (mean age, body mass and height were 24,7±7,32; 68,57±10,68; 174,36±8,48, respectively).During...

Background: Evaluation of biomechanical factors like joint torques plays an important role in the treatment and prevention of injury. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the biomechanics of backhand, short serve and smash in order to identify the effect of these movements on the lower limb joint kinetics. Materials and Methods: The st...

Backward walking (BW) is a common technique employed in the treatment of a variety of orthopedic and neurological diseases. BW training may offer some benefits especially in balance and motor control ability beyond those experienced through forward walking (FW). The purpose of this study was to determine whether BW represented a simple reversal of...

Streszczenie Wstęp: Zaburzenia równowagi ciała są jednym z wielu czynników negatywnie wpływającym na codzienną aktywność, co skutkuje pogorszeniem jakości życia człowieka. Celem pracy była cena różnic wyników stabilometrycznych w dynamice i statyce u kobiet młodszych, starszych i z dysfunkcją narządu wzroku. Materiał i metody: Materiał badany obejm...

Gait recordings exhibit intra-subject, inter-subject, within-trial and between-trial variability as well as data analysis methods. In medicine, comparison of different measuring method results or quantifying changes due to specific treatment is required. The aim of this study was to compare a group homogeneity with respect to dispersion around the...