Dominika Batycka, Grzegorz Mańko, Michał Stachnik

Dominika Batycka, Grzegorz Mańko, Michał Stachnik – Sport training as an alternative form of rehabilitation for heart transplant patients. Fizjoterapia Polska 2001; 1(2); 111-116

Abstract
Background. The goal of this study was to evaluate „sports training” as an alternative to the traditional forms of cardiac rehabilitation for patients in advanced recovery from heart transplant surgery. Sports training is a good, diversified form of therapy, and at the same time plays an additional role in social integration and relief of psychological stress. Material and method. The effectiveness of “sports training” was evaluated in a natural clinical experiment involving 34 patients undergoing rehabilitation in the Cardiovascular Surgery and Transplantation Clinic at the Jagiellonian University’s Collegium Medicum in Cracow. The patients were divided into a control group (K), including 17 patients (15 men and 2 women) who underwent rehabilitation before the implementation of “sports training”, using the traditional form of rehabilitation, and an experimental group (E), also including 17 patients matched by age and sex, who received “sports training”. Results. An analysis of the results obtained demonstrated no statistically significant difference between the outcome under traditional rehabilitation and in “sports training”, including respiratory parameters. Nothing in the results pointed to increased risks associated with sports training. Conclusion. Sports’ training is a good alternative to traditional forms of exercises for patients who are well advanced in recovery from heart transplant surgery.

Key words:
Heart Transplant, sport training, rehabilitation