INTRODUCTION: The dynamic development of the professional Paralympic sport has raised the need to progressively improve competitiveness. As athletes cannot influence individual genetic predisposition, physiological adaptations seem to be a key factor that can improve athletic performance. The human body always strives to maintain the state of equilibrium and, for this purpose, it activates compensatory yet not always beneficial compensatory mechanisms. Two closely related compensatory mechanisms are important in Para athletes: intrinsic (disability) and extrinsic (athletic training) [1-2]. While the intrinsic adaptation strategy is one-sided, the extrinsic adaptation strategy affects the athletes body in two ways, i.e. (a) it can induce new musculoskeletal adaptations, and (b) it can aggravate existing adaptations . The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of sport-specific training on the body posture of elite para swimmers. METHODS: The study included 22 male and female elite para swimmers (age: 19.7±4.8, body mass 63.3±10.9, body height: 1.74±0.1) from the Polish national team. The assessment of the body posture was performed with a non-invasive method Medi Mouse (Idiag M360). Spinal curvatures measurements were performed in three different trunk positions in the sagittal and frontal planes and included (a) the evaluation of the current depth and mobility of thoracic and lumbar curvatures and the differences between theirs current and proper physiological values and (b) identification of the sagittal and frontal spinal curvature deviations. RESULTS: The analysis of the body posture relative to symmetry in the habitual position in the frontal plane show postural asymmetries and a significant tendency to mild left scoliosis in the majority of para swimmers. Moreover, regardless of the disability, lumbar lordosis and pelvic inclination in the sagittal standing were significantly less defined, whereas thoracic kyphosis showed either normal or decreased values. A significant decrease in mobility of the lumbar spine was observed in all three positions, while an increase in mobility was found in hip joints during the movement of flexion and extension. CONCLUSION: Significant deviations both in frontal and anteroposterior curvatures of the spine might be associated with body`s extrinsic adaptation to swimming training. Elite level sport-specific training can affect the quality of the body posture rather than the impairment.
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