LONG-TERM RESEARCH OF SCHOOLCHILDREN SPINAL CORD MOBILITY: AGE ASPECTS AND ENHANCEMENT METHODS

Background
The aim of this research was to reveal the age-related characteristics of schoolchildren spinal cord mobility changes and experimentally substantiate the methods of their improvement in the long-term process of physical education.

Material and methods
The two age groups were simultaneously investigated: primary school (1-4th grades) and secondary school (5-9th grades) children. The author’s methods of schoolchildren spinal mobility improvement were included in the physical education lessons of the trial groups, while in the control groups, the lesson was conducted according to the school curriculum.

Results
The results of the long-term study revealed features of spinal mobility indicator dynamics at the stage of school ontogenesis. The data of annual testing demonstrates an improvement in the indicators of spinal mobility among the male and female schoolchildren of the experimental groups. The results obtained in the control group show that at the stage of school ontogenesis, their deterioration is possible.

Conclusions
This underpins the assertion that a factor of great significance in improving spinal mobility is not the peculiarities of age-related development but the special method. Thus, the necessity to include a special set of exercises aimed at improving spinal mobility, in the content of a school curriculum in physical education, was confirmed.