Comparison of cardiac autonomic modulation of athletes and non-athletes individuals with spinal cord injury at rest and during a non-immersive virtual reality task.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To compare cardiac autonomic modulation of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) that practice different amounts of moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) and able-bodied controls at rest and during a non-immersive Virtual Reality task.

Setting: Athletes with SCI of wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair handball, WCMX (wheelchair motocross), and para-swimming were assessed at the Faca na Cadeira Institute, ICEL and Clube Espéria in São Paulo, Brazil; non-athletes with SCI and able-bodied controls were assessed at the Acreditando Centro de Recuperação Neuromotora, São Paulo, Brazil.