Physical rehabilitation of visually impaired women from 40 to 45 years of age by means of athletics

Aim. This paper, being a part of an experimental study, was aimed at developing a rehabilitation program for middle-aged visually impaired women by means of athletics and justifying its efficacy through practical application. Materials and methods. The study took place at the I.S. Yarygin Physical Education and Sports Center (Krasnoyarsk Krai). The sample consisted of two groups. The experimental group involved four women with partial vision loss and one woman with complete vision loss. The control group involved five women with partial vision loss and one woman with complete vision loss. The control group was engaged in standard health-enhancing activities, while the experimental one was engaged in the authors’ program of exercises. Its training regime was as follows: 3 times a week during the first 3 months of the preparatory cycle and 4 times a week during the main period. Motor fitness was evaluated with adequate tests, which measured physical abilities. The data obtained was processed statistically in the Microsoft Excel 2010 program. Results. Based on the data on changes in physical fitness of middle-aged visually impaired women, it was established that baseline measurements were low due to the insufficient physical activity of the sample. In both groups, health-enhancing activities contributed to the physical fitness of the study participants. Nevertheless, in the experimental group, the results obtained were significantly better, which could be attributed to the effectiveness of the authors’ program. Conclusion. The use of this program in a system of routine health-enhancing activities will significantly contribute to the theory and methods of adaptive physical education.