Adrian Georgescu

Background and Objectives: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a prevalent condition that impairs quality of life, functionality, and work productivity. While most acute episodes of back pain resolve, 4–25% become chronic due to factors such as high pain intensity, psychological distress, and maladaptive behaviors. Nonspecific CLBP is best understood through the biopsychosocial model, encompassing biological, psychological, and social influences, including kinesiophobia. Management relies on physical activity, pain education, and psychological interventions, with therapist knowledge and attitudes affecting outcomes. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of CLBP among healthcare workers, examine their knowledge of pain neurophysiology, evaluate kinesiophobia, and explore how personal experience with CLBP influences their beliefs, attitudes, and interactions with patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted from January to May 2025 among healthcare professionals. A total of 50 participants completed an online questionnaire, of which 42 were valid and included in the analysis. The questionnaire collected demographic and professional data, determined the presence of CLBP, and included three standardized instruments: the Revised Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (rNPQ) to assess knowledge of pain mechanisms, the Health Care Providers’ Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS) to evaluate beliefs about pain and disability, and the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK-11) to measure fear of movement. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. Results: Among the 42 participants, 11 demonstrated low, 28 moderate, and 3 high knowledge of pain neurophysiology (rNPQ), with a mean score of 5.66. On the HC-PAIRS, the majority (30 participants) scored above 60, indicating beliefs that pain leads to disability, while 12 scored below 60, reflecting a biopsychosocial perspective; gender did not significantly affect HC-PAIRS scores (p = 0.213). As for kinesiophobia (TSK-11), 24 participants had low, 17 moderate, and 1 clinically significant fear of movement. Correlation analysis revealed that younger participants had higher rNPQ scores (r = −0.358, p = 0.020) and lower TSK-11 scores (r = −0.389, p = 0.011). TSK-11 scores increased with age (r = 0.432, p = 0.004), while HC-PAIRS scores showed no significant correlations. Conclusions: Healthcare professionals, particularly physiotherapists, show gaps in knowledge of pain neurophysiology and a tendency toward biomedical beliefs regarding chronic low back pain. This cross-sectional study indicates that a greater understanding of pain mechanisms is associated with lower kinesiophobia, emphasizing the importance of education. Integrating the biopsychosocial model into undergraduate and continuing professional training, through interdisciplinary and practical modules, may improve knowledge, reduce maladaptive fear-avoidance behaviors, and enhance patient care. Future studies should include larger, more diverse samples and assess the long-term impact of educational interventions on clinical practice.

Aim. In women's handball, general physical fitness serves as the foundation for achieving a high level of performance. The significant fluctuations in performance, at the national level, can be attributed to the lack of consistency in physical training. Irregular efforts lead to a lack of consistency in the approach to matches and can negatively affect the health of the players Material and methods. The study aims to provide valuable information to serve as a foundation for optimizing physical training strategies and, implicitly, improving the performance of women's handball teams.We used the testing method to determine the subjects' physical fitness and objective individual performance in general and specific motor ability. Results. We applied 4 motor tests approved by the Romanian Handball Federation to the senior women from 10 sports clubs in the national handball league of Romania. As can be seen in table no. 4, the senior women in the National Handball League record an average of 175.76±4.89 when measuring the waist and 71.67±6.14 when measuring the weight. The players' waist and girth have low variability and nearly symmetrical distributions, indicating high consistency in these measurements within the sample. Conclusions Physical preparation is an essential element of the training program of female handball players. Both coaches and athletes recognize the importance of physical training in team performance in sports competitions. This suggests that there is a shared awareness of the crucial role that physical fitness plays in achieving desired results in senior level handball. Keywords: Handball, senior, general and specific physical training.

Introduction. I chose this theme because the sporting value of a handball player largely resides in the qualities of training, including the speed that shapes and refines the principles and skills required by content development. Technical and tactical preparation is specific to the modern handball game practiced by the best teams in the world. Objective. This paper tries to make a contribution to the enrichment of the methodical material available to those who have chosen the beautiful mission to initiate the athletes in the handball secrets, to teach them specific movements of the game: as close as possible to Play and the effort to the special requirements of handball. Therefore, the main purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the usefulness of a specific speed training program. Methods. The target group consists of 18 members of the men's team C.S. Medgidia, with an average age of 19.94 ± 1.28 years. This team is active in the National Championship, A Division. The subjects underwent initial screening on July 4, 2018. Final testing was conducted on August 29, 2018. During 8 weeks (July 6 - August 30, 2018) related to two tests, the team had included in their training program this training program we designed to improve their speed. Results. The parameter values recorded in the two initial and final tests differ statistically significantly from all parameters, meaning a 100% test. At these parameters, following the verification of statistical hypotheses using Test t, the null hypothesis was rejected, the significance threshold (p) being calculated being less than 0.05. Parameter averages calculated for final testing indicate an improvement in the athletes' preparation for initial testing at all tests. Conclusions. The main result of this paper is that the speed of subjects has increased, and that confirms the hypothesis that by performing a rigorously standardized program, based on specific speed training, the level of training of the motor quality speed will increase.