Effects of abdominal binding on field-based exercise responses in Paralympic athletes with cervical spinal cord injury

Effects of abdominal binding on field-based exercise responses in Paralympic athletes with cervical spinal cord injury.

Christopher R. West, Ian G. Campbell, Victoria L. Goosey-Tolfrey, Barry S. Mason, Lee M. Romer

Abstract

Abdominal binding has been shown to improve resting cardiorespiratory function in individuals with

cervical SCI, but it is not yet clear whether this approach improves the exercise response.

Objectives: To determine the effects of abdominal binding on parameters relating to wheelchair sports performance in highly-trained athletes with cervical SCI.

Design: Repeated-measures field-based study.

Methods: Ten Paralympic wheelchair rugby players with motor-complete SCI (C5–C7) completed a series of exercise tests in two conditions (bound and unbound). The following parameters were assessed: agility and acceleration/deceleration performance; cardiorespiratory function and gross efficiency during submaximal wheelchair propulsion; anaerobic performance and propulsion kinematics during a 30s Wingate test; repeated sprint performance during a 10 × 20 m test; and aerobic performance during a repeated 4 min push test.

Results: Compared to unbound, 6 of 17 field-based performance measures changed significantly with binding. Time to complete the acceleration/deceleration test decreased (p = 0.005), whereas distances covered during the repeated 4 min push test increased (p < 0.043). Binding elicited significant reductions in minute ventilation during submaximal wheelchair propulsion (p = 0.040) as well as blood lactate accumulation and limb discomfort during the second set of the repeated 4 min push test (p = 0.012 and 0.022). There were no statistically significant effects of binding on any other variable.

Conclusions: Abdominal binding improves some important measures of field-based performance in highly-trained athletes with cervical SCI. The changes may be attributable, at least in part, to improvements in trunk stability, ventilatory efficiency and/or haemodynamics.

Source.

Wheelchair rugby - athletes testing

Last Saturday we tested the physical and sport specific skills of our athletes in the Dutch Wheelchair Rugby Talent Selection Team with Tom Paulson. Great experience and nice results.

Posted by Testcentrum CASA Reade on Tuesday, 19 May 2015

Last Saturday we tested the physical and sport specific skills of our athletes in the Dutch Wheelchair Rugby Talent Selection Team with Tom Paulson. Great experience and nice results.

Posted by Testcentrum CASA Reade on Tuesday, 19 May 2015

Basic wheelchair propulsion

Basic Wheelchair Propulsion by BlazeSports America.

Born from the spirit of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Paralympic Games, BlazeSports America is a national nonprofit organization that enables children and adults with physical disability to realize their potential through sport and healthy lifestyles. BlazeSports provides sports training, competitions, summer camps, leadership training, and recreational opportunities for youth and adults who use wheelchairs, have a visual impairment, have an amputation, or who have a neurological disability such as cerebral palsy through 63 clubs in 29 states including the District of Columbia.

Wheelchair rugby

Wheelchair Rugby is a mixed team sport for male and female quadriplegic athletes. A unique sport created by athletes with a disability, it combines elements of rugby, basketball and handball. Players compete in teams of four to carry the ball across the opposing team's goal line. Contact between wheelchairs is permitted, and is in fact an integral part of the sport as players use their chairs to block and hold opponents.

Wheelchair Rugby players compete in manual wheelchairs specifically designed for the sport. Players must meet minimum disability criteria and be classifiable under the sport classification rules. Wheelchair Rugby is a Paralympic sport, with twenty-six countries competing in international competition and more than ten others developing national programs.

source: The International Wheelchair Rugby Federation

Do you find wheelchair rugby soft?

All the hard hits and spectacular crashes at the 2011 Vancouver Invitational Wheelchair Rugby tournament.

Wheelchair rugby

Did you know that people with quadriplegia have their own wheelchair rugby sport?

Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practiced in over twenty countries around the world and is a Paralympic sport.

Developed in Canada in 1977, the sport's original name was murderball. The United States name "quad rugby" is based on the fact that all wheelchair rugby players need to have disabilities that include at least some loss of function in at least three limbs—most are medically classified as quadriplegic.

Wheelchair rugby is played indoors on a hardwood court. The rules include elements of wheelchair basketball, ice hockey, handball and rugby union. It is a contact sport and physical contact between wheelchairs is an integral part of the game. It has little in common with Rugby football except for the name.

The sport is governed by the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) which was established in 1993.

And of course, Greece has its own National Wheelchair Rugby team..! Go boys..!

What is interesting for Physical Therapists that want to get into this field is that there is a special Functional Classification system by which each athlete gets a point based on his/her functional condition and then he can enter a team.

Classification is a unique and integral part of sport for persons with disabilities. The purpose of classification is to ensure fair and equitable competition at all levels of sport and to allow athletes to compete at the highest level, regardless of individual differences in physical function.

You can read more here.