CORRECTIVE AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES FOR THE PREVENTION OF MYOPIA IN STUDENTS IN A UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of the conducted research is determined, on the one hand, by the unfavorable epidemiological situation regarding myopia among students, and on the other hand, by extremely incomplete knowledge of the mechanisms that mediate its development, progression, and stabilization. The aim of this study is to carry out a comprehensive analysis of factors that contribute to the development of myopia, as well as the development of methods for assessing the risk of its occurrence, prevention of progression and psychological correction of myopia, research on the role of physical exertion in the prevention of visual fatigue and psychological correction of myopia with the help of therapeutic exercises. Materials and methods. The study covered a representative sample of students from different regions of Ukraine. The number of participants was determined on the basis of statistical calculations to achieve sufficient representativeness of the results – 62 first- and second-year students of the Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic National University. The study of the peculiarities of the stability of attention and the speed of attention switching of myopic and normally ophthalmologically healthy students using the "Correction test" method by B. Burdon. Results and discussion. Analyzing the results of the projective method, we can note that myopic individuals have more often (25%) the influence of the family in their lives, in contrast to healthy individuals (10%). Differences are also observed in the indicators of anxiety, in particular, myopic people show more anxiety in relation to society and feel insecurity (41%), in contrast to healthy people (23%). At the same time, there are insignificant differences in openness to communication – myopic people show a high level (56%) in contrast to healthy people (67%). Among students with a reduced relative reserve of accommodation, a decrease in the static endurance of the back muscles was more often observed. It was 17.74% for boys and 22.58% for girls. 32.25% of boys and 77.41% of girls had incorrect postures. To increase the static endurance of the muscles of the back, neck, and press, a technique was developed that included two repetitions of 2-3 exercises for each muscle group with a short interval between repetitions. Conclusions. 1. Refractive disorders corresponding to mild and moderate myopia include restructuring of function at the level of the retina, visual pathways, and cerebral cortex. 2. Under conditions of the presence of myopia in a person, changes occur in the functioning of both the visual sensory system and higher nervous activity, in particular, attention. 3. The presence of myopia is also related to the psychological characteristics of the individual, in particular, the level of anxiety, the degree of independence and the feeling of attachment to the family, the search for protection from society and a safe environment for self-development. 4. Corrective and preventive measures should include a set of measures, such as psychophysiological stimulation of visual analyzers, selection of individual modes of performance of visual loads, increasing the variety of methods of intra-family interaction. 5. The analysis of the results of the study in the university environment of the impact of physical exercises on the problem of myopia among students showed the high effectiveness of physical activity and adapted physical exercises for the prevention of the development of myopia among students.