Criteria for evaluating working physical fitness of mine rescuers

Česká verzia

Authors: Jirák Zdeněk ¹; Lvončík Samuel ^2,3; Tomášková Hana ⁴; Bužga Marek ¹; Trlicová Michaela ¹; Tekielová Denisa ¹
Authors place of work: Ústav fyziologie, LF OU Ostrava, vedoucí doc. RNDr. Pavol Švorc, CSc. ¹; Karvinská hornická nemocnice a. s., ředitel Ing. Ivan Stejskal ²; SALVE PZS, s. r. o., Liptovský Mikuláš, ředitel MUDr. Samuel Lvončík ³; Ústav epidemiologie a ochrany veřejného zdraví, LF OU Ostrava, vedoucí prof. MUDr. Vladimír Janout, CSc. ⁴
Published in the journal: Pracov. Lék., 65, 2013, No. 1-2, s. 6-13.
Category: Original Papers

Summary

Objective:
The authors investigated physical fitness of professional and voluntary mine rescuers at the Ostrava-Karviná coal mine district and evaluated, whether the so far used criteria for evaluating their ability to perform the work of coal mine rescuers in the underground coal mines.

Methods:
With the framework of follow-up medical examinations the basic hematological and biochemical testes were performed in a cohort of 685 mine rescuers. The cohort encompassed the groups of professional rescuers and technicians of the Ostrava Main Mining Rescue Station and a group of voluntary rescuers. Basic anthropometric examination and examination of physical fitness was made by a continuous load test up to the maximum of bicycle ergometer in all examined individuals. The fitness of the mine rescuers was compared with so far used criteria for evaluating working qualifications of mine rescuers and fitness of a control group of professional mine rescuers performed in 1979.

Results:
With the exception of the youngest age group the professional mine rescuers reached significantly higher VO_2max and especially VO_2max/kg values as compared with technicians and some age groups of voluntary rescuers. Present rescuers of all age categories have higher body mass and % of body fat and reach significantly higher values of VO_2max/kg in comparison with the control group of mine rescuers in 1979.

Conclusions:
Present criteria for evaluating working qualifications of the mine rescuers are not fulfilled by 30% of the examined individuals. In view of the required performance the present limits are suitable under the condition that the mine rescuers at the age of 50 to 59 years will not be engaged in actions requiring extremely high physical load.

Keywords:
physical fitness – mining – mine rescuers

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