Description

The research project will involve patients aged 65 and older with chronic respiratory diseases. Based on controlled studies conducted at the Health Resort "Wieliczka" Salt Mine in Wieliczka, and assuming the project will be a prospective, experimental, controlled study with a crossover design, calculations were made for the primary variable under investigation (exercise tolerance). These calculations determined that 29 pairs of participants are needed to achieve a statistical power of 80% and a significance level of 5% (bilateral). To detect a mean difference between pairs of 58, assuming a standard deviation of 106 for these differences and accounting for a 10% loss of participants from observation, the required sample size was increased to 33 pairs. Given the crossover design, the study plans to include 33 patients.

Volunteers will undergo qualifying tests, measurements of functional fitness, respiratory indicators, and blood rheology tests 3 weeks prior to the start of the rehabilitation and therapeutic stay in the underground salt chambers (1st test). During the 3-week period before the rehabilitation, participants will not engage in any other form of therapeutic rehabilitation. Functional fitness, respiratory indicators, and blood rheology tests will be repeated before the start of the stay (2nd test), immediately after its completion (3rd test), and 3 months after its completion (4th follow-up test). Each day of the rehabilitation and therapeutic stay will include a 2.5-hour visit to the underground health resort under the supervision of a doctor, physiotherapist, and nurse, during which pulmonary rehabilitation will be implemented.