File
Morgulec-Adamowicz N1, Kosmol A1, Molik B1, Małek Ł1, Mróz A2, Czajkowska A3, Gryko K2, Ogonowska-Słodownik A1
1Jozefi Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Warsaw, Poland, 2Jozefi Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Physical Education, Warsaw, Poland, 3Jozefi Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Tourism and Recreation, Warsaw, Poland
Background: There is an increased interest in promoting exercise for people with spinal cord injury. One of the most popular sports activity for individuals with quadriplegia is wheelchair rugby. It is a contact team sport originally developed specifically to meet needs of individuals with quadriplegia, although now athletes with a variety of impairment involving all four limbs are eligible to compete. Wheelchair rugby combines short, intense exercise bouts over an extended playing time; thus, it requires aerobic as well as anaerobic capacity. Therefore, aerobic capacity of wheelchair rugby players is crucial for this endurance-related game. Studies on athletes with SCI above Th6 demonstrated decreased maximal HR and decreased oxygen consumption during maximal workload in comparison to athletes with lower level of SCI or to healthy controls. Selecting the optimal exercise protocol (mode of exercise) is essential for athlete safety and comfort, as well as to obtain the most interpretable data in individuals with quadriplegia. There is no agreement which test protocol yield the most consistent values of peak oxygen uptake in wheelchair rugby athletes with quadriplegia.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the physiological responses during maximal exercise testing on a motor driven wheelchair treadmill (WCT) and with use of arm crank ergometer (ACE) in a group of wheelchair rugby athletes with quadriplegia.
Methods: Eighteen wheelchair rugby players at local or national level (mean age 33.8±5.3, 17 male) with various severity of traumatic quadriplegia participated in this study. Two protocols of continuous incremental workload test until exhaustion i.e. wheelchair treadmill stress test (WCT test) and arm crank ergometer stress test (ACE test) were used to evaluate aerobic performance of the players. Tests were conducted at a 24 hour interval at the same time of the day in the university laboratory. Oxygen uptake (VO2), minute ventilation (VE), heart rate (HR) and lactate concentration (LA) were measured during the rest, effort and the cool down periods of both tests. The t-test was used to compare parameters between test conditions. Significance was set at the p .05 level.
Results: There were no significant differences in VO2peak between ACE (18,71±5,79 ml/kg/min) and WCT (18,79±5,88 ml/kg/min) tests. The VEpeak, HRpeak and LApeak for ACE and WCT were also not different.
Conclusion(s): The lack of significant difference between ACE and WCT in terms of peak values of VO2, VE and HR implies that wheelchair rugby players with quadriplegia reached their maximal capacity on each test regardless of the mode of exercise.
Implications: The results suggest that modes of exercises and protocols used in this study are appropriate to measure physiological responses of athletes with quadriplegia and can be used interchangeably. It is important for coaches and physical therapists, because ACE seems to be more available in many laboratories, due to the lower costs and portability of the device.
Keywords: disability sport, exercise testing, peak oxygen consumption
Funding acknowledgements: The research was funded by the Faculty of Rehabilitation at Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the physiological responses during maximal exercise testing on a motor driven wheelchair treadmill (WCT) and with use of arm crank ergometer (ACE) in a group of wheelchair rugby athletes with quadriplegia.
Methods: Eighteen wheelchair rugby players at local or national level (mean age 33.8±5.3, 17 male) with various severity of traumatic quadriplegia participated in this study. Two protocols of continuous incremental workload test until exhaustion i.e. wheelchair treadmill stress test (WCT test) and arm crank ergometer stress test (ACE test) were used to evaluate aerobic performance of the players. Tests were conducted at a 24 hour interval at the same time of the day in the university laboratory. Oxygen uptake (VO2), minute ventilation (VE), heart rate (HR) and lactate concentration (LA) were measured during the rest, effort and the cool down periods of both tests. The t-test was used to compare parameters between test conditions. Significance was set at the p .05 level.
Results: There were no significant differences in VO2peak between ACE (18,71±5,79 ml/kg/min) and WCT (18,79±5,88 ml/kg/min) tests. The VEpeak, HRpeak and LApeak for ACE and WCT were also not different.
Conclusion(s): The lack of significant difference between ACE and WCT in terms of peak values of VO2, VE and HR implies that wheelchair rugby players with quadriplegia reached their maximal capacity on each test regardless of the mode of exercise.
Implications: The results suggest that modes of exercises and protocols used in this study are appropriate to measure physiological responses of athletes with quadriplegia and can be used interchangeably. It is important for coaches and physical therapists, because ACE seems to be more available in many laboratories, due to the lower costs and portability of the device.
Keywords: disability sport, exercise testing, peak oxygen consumption
Funding acknowledgements: The research was funded by the Faculty of Rehabilitation at Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw.
Topic: Sport & sports injuries; Neurology: spinal cord injury
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw
Ethics committee: Senate Committee of Scientific Research Ethics
Ethics number: SKE 01-62/2017
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
