1. Wheelchair-specific fitness of inactive people with long-term spinal cord injury
- Author
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Jan W van der Scheer, Marga Tepper, Sonja de Groot, DirkJan Veeger, Lucas H. V. van der Woude, David Gobets, Kinesiology, Neuromechanics, Research Institute MOVE, SMART Movements (SMART), and Extremities Pain and Disability (EXPAND)
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,STRAIN ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Physical fitness ,Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation ,EXERCISE ,Isometric exercise ,tetraplegia ,Physical medicine and rehabilitation ,paraplegia ,INPATIENT REHABILITATION ,SPRINT POWER ,STRENGTH ,medicine ,Humans ,isometric strength ,Spinal Cord Injuries/rehabilitation ,ACTIVE LIFE-STYLE ,Tetraplegia ,Spinal cord injury ,Spinal Cord Injuries ,mechanical efficiency ,Rehabilitation ,Exercise Tolerance ,business.industry ,PHYSICAL CAPACITY ,VO2 max ,wheelchairs ,General Medicine ,ADULTS ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Paraplegia/rehabilitation ,aerobic capacity ,anaerobic power ,INDIVIDUALS ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,ANAEROBIC WORK CAPACITY ,Physical therapy ,physical fitness ,Female ,work power ,business ,Paraplegia ,Wheelchairs/statistics & numerical data ,Anaerobic exercise ,human activities - Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To describe wheelchair-specific anaerobic work capacity, isometric strength and peak aerobic work capacity of physically inactive people with long-term spinal cord injury using outcomes of tests that are feasible for use in rehabilitation centres, and to determine associations among these fitness components.DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.PARTICIPANTS: Manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury for at least 10 years, who were inactive based on a norm score of a physical activity questionnaire (n = 29; 22 men; 20 with paraplegia; median age 53 years).METHODS: Participants performed 3 exercise tests in their own wheelchair to determine: highest 5-s power output over 15-m overground sprinting (P5-15m); highest 3-s isometric push-force (Fiso); and peak power output (POpeak) and peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) over a peak test.RESULTS: Median (interquartile range) was in P5-15m 16.1 W (9.4-20.9); in Fiso 399 N (284-610); in POpeak 40.9 W (19.1-54.9); and in VO2peak 1.26 l/min (0.80-1.67). Correlations among outcomes of fitness components were weak (r = 0.50-0.67, p CONCLUSION: All fitness components measured in this sample were at relatively low levels, implying a specific need for interventions to improve wheelchair-specific fitness. The weak-to-moderate associations among components imply that separate tests should be used when monitoring wheelchair-specific fitness in rehabilitation centres.
- Published
- 2015
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