Inclusive Physical Education of Students with Disabilities Due to War Injuries: Restoration of the Functions of the Lower Extremities

Abstract

Background. The relevance of the study is because the institutions of higher education are now tasked with creating all the conditions for the recovery of body functions lost as a result of injuries of students with disabilities, which additionally actualizes the stated problem in connection with the long-term hostilities on the territory of Ukraine. Objectives. The purpose of the article is to reveal the effectiveness of the developed program of inclusive PE on the recovery of lost functions due to injuries of the lower limbs in students with disabilities. Materials and methods. To solve the tasks, a complex of scientific intelligence methods was used at the empirical and theoretical level: literature analysis, observation, testing, experiment, and methods of mathematical statistics. The test program consisted of the star excursion balance, weight–bearing lunge test, and the single leg stance test. 24 male students with disabilities in the first year of study at a higher education institution took part in the experiment. Results. According to the qualitative assessment of the obtained results, it can be stated that after the end of the experiment, there is a general tendency to increase the results of the test tasks. A significant improvement of the indicators was found in all the investigated parameters without exception: as a positive trend in the range of 15% is observed. The results of the static and dynamic tests performed with support on the injured leg were significantly lower than with support on the uninjured leg (p <0.05). Conclusions. The results of the final testing allow us to ascertain the effectiveness of the implemented program. Statistically reliable positive dynamics of the set of investigated indicators proved that the implementation of the developed inclusive PE program for students with disabilities due to injuries of the lower extremities ensures the effectiveness of recovery due to functional injuries.

Keywords

• inclusion
• physical education
• student with disabilities
• war trauma