Sitting pressure during wheelchair propulsion and handcycling: effects of backrest angle, movement intensity and cushion type.

The main aim of this study was to compare sitting pressure (peak pressure index (PPI) and peak pressure gradient (PPG)) between a daily wheelchair and fixed-frame handcycle, thereby assessing the effect of handcycle backrest angle, movement intensity and cushion type. Twenty able-bodied participants performed static and dynamic (two intensities) tests in a wheelchair and handcycle. A honeycomb wheelchair cushion and standard foam handcycle cushion were used.

Consensus-Based Recommendations for Designing, Delivering, Evaluating, and Reporting Exercise Intervention Research Involving People Living With a Spinal Cord Injury.

Objectives: To establish recommendations for designing, delivering, evaluating, and reporting exercise intervention research to improve fitness-related outcomes in people living with spinal cord injury (PwSCI).

Design: International consensus process.

Setting: (1) An expert panel was established consisting of 9 members of the governing panel of the International Spinal Cord Society Physical Activity Special Interest Group and 9 additional scientists who authored or co-authored ≥1 exercise randomized controlled trial paper involving PwSCI.

Adherence to Physical Activity Guidelines in Manual Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury and the Association With Shoulder Pain.

Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate the association between adherence to spinal cord injury-specific physical activity guidelines in manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury and shoulder pain prevalence.

Design: This is a cross-sectional analysis of the SwiSCI Community Survey 2022 data, assessing aerobic activity and muscle strength training adherence in manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury and shoulder pain prevalence. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the association between meeting the physical activity guidelines and shoulder pain.

The Effect of a Newly Developed Hand Rim on Mobility Performance and Propulsion Technique in Wheelchair Tennis Players.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of a newly developed hand rim in wheelchair tennis players from a lab and field perspective.

Methods: Nine wheelchair tennis players performed a set of field and lab tests with the new rim (NR) and regular rim on the racket side. Each player had a 60- to 120-minute regular training session with the NR.

Comparison of rolling resistance, propulsion technique and physiological demands between a rigid, folding and hybrid manual wheelchair frame.

Background: When selecting a manual wheelchair frame, the choice between rigid and folding frames carries significant implications. Traditional folding frames are expected to have more rolling resistance and power dissipation caused by frame deformation, while they are more convenient for transportation, such as in a car. A new hybrid frame, designed to be more rigid, aims to minimize power dissipation while still retaining foldability.

Obesity in wheelchair users with long-standing spinal cord injury: prevalence and associations with time since injury and physical activity.

Study Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the ALLRISC cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of obesity and its association with time since injury (TSI) and physical activity (PA) in wheelchair users with long-standing (TSI > 10 years) spinal cord injury (SCI).

Setting: Community, The Netherlands.

The effect of breathing exercises and mindset with or without cold exposure on mental and physical health in persons with a spinal cord injury-a protocol for a three-arm randomised-controlled trial.

Study Design: A three-arm randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of the Wim Hof Method (WHM), with (WHM-C) and without cold exposure (WHM-NC), on mental and physical health in persons with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Setting: Rehabilitation centre (assessments and once-weekly intervention sessions) and home-based (daily intervention sessions).

Effect of Training for an Athletic Challenge on Illness Cognition in Individuals with Chronic Disability: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Illness cognitions (IC) influence how a patient adapts to a chronic disease. The aim was (1) to determine if training for a handcycling mountain time trial (HandbikeBattle) improves IC and (2) to identify factors associated with IC change scores. Persons with a chronic disability (N = 220; including N = 151 with spinal cord disorder) trained 5 months and participated in the time trial.

The Effect of Mindset and Breathing Exercises on Physical and Mental Health in Persons with Spinal Cord Injury-A Pilot Feasibility Study.

This study investigated the feasibility and efficacy of mindset and breathing exercises (Wim Hof Method (WHM)) on physical and mental health in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Ten individuals with SCI participated in this pilot study. These ten participants followed a 4-week WHM intervention, with one weekly group session in the rehabilitation center and daily practice at home using the WHM app.

Relationships between cardiovascular disease risk, neuropathic pain, mental health, and autonomic function in chronic spinal cord injury.

Study Design: Multicentre, cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To determine if clinical measures of poor mental health (MH-) and neuropathic pain (NP) are related to increased CVD risk in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), and further elucidate the relationships between CVD risk, autonomic function, NP, and MH-.

Setting: Eight SCI rehabilitation centres in the Netherlands.

The impact of lower-limb function on upper-limb pull and push strength in elite handcycling athletes.

This study investigated the impact of performing a closed kinetic chain with the lower limbs on isometric upper-limb pull and push strength. Sixty-two elite handcyclists were assessed with the Manual Muscle Test and allocated to groups with partial to normal (LLF) or no lower-limb (no-LLF) function. Both groups performed upper-limb strength measurements under two kinetic-chain conditions.

Changes in body satisfaction during and after a 5-month handcycle training period and associations with physical capacity and body composition in individuals with a physical impairment.

Purpose: To investigate: (1) changes in body satisfaction during five months of handcycle training and one year after the training period; (2) whether longitudinal changes are dependent on sex, waist circumference and severity of the physical impairment; (3) associations between changes in physical capacity or body composition, and body satisfaction.

Materials And Methods: Individuals ( = 143) with health conditions such as spinal cord injury filled out the Adult Body Satisfaction Questionnaire: at the start of the training (T1), directly after the training period (T2); and four months (T3) and one year after the training period (T4). At T1 and T2, physical capacity was determined with an upper-body graded exercise test, and waist circumference was measured.

Force-velocity profiling of elite wheelchair rugby players by manipulating rolling resistance over multiple wheelchair sprints.

This study investigated the effect of increased rolling resistance on wheelchair sprint performance and the concomitant force-velocity characteristics. Thirteen wheelchair rugby (WCR) athletes completed five 15 s wheelchair sprints in their own rugby wheelchair on an instrumented dual-roller wheelchair ergometer. The first sprint was performed against a close to overground resistance and in each of the following sprints, the resistance increased with 80% of that resistance.

Handrim Wheelchair Propulsion Technique in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury With and Without Shoulder Pain: A Cross-sectional Comparison.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare handrim wheelchair propulsion technique between individuals with spinal cord injury with and without shoulder pain.

Design: A cross-sectional study including 38 experienced handrim wheelchair users with spinal cord injury was conducted. Participants were divided into the "shoulder pain" ( n = 15) and "no-shoulder pain" ( n = 23) groups using the Local Musculoskeletal Discomfort scale.

Optimization of Protocols Using Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation for Paralyzed Lower-Limb Muscles to Increase Energy Expenditure in People With Spinal Cord Injury.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether using surface neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for paralyzed lower-limb muscles results in an increase in energy expenditure and whether the number of activated muscles and duty cycle affect the potential increase.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Results: Energy expenditure during all NMES protocols was significantly higher than the condition without NMES (1.

A Scoping Review on Shoulder Injuries of Wheelchair Tennis Players: Potential Risk-Factors and Musculoskeletal Adaptations.

Wheelchair tennis players are prone to develop shoulder injuries, due to the combination of wheelchair propulsion, overhead activities and daily wheelchair activities. A methodical literature search was conducted to identify articles on shoulder complaints in wheelchair tennis, wheelchair sports and tennis. The aims were to identify (1) type of shoulder complaints; (2) possible risk factors for the development of shoulder injuries; (3) musculoskeletal adaptations in the shoulder joint in wheelchair tennis players.

Lifestyle and health changes in wheelchair users with a chronic disability after 12 weeks of using the WHEELS mHealth application.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine changes in physical activity, nutrition, sleep behaviour and body composition in wheelchair users with a chronic disability after 12 weeks of using the WHEELS mHealth application (app).

Methods: A 12-week pre-post intervention study was performed, starting with a 1-week control period. Physical activity and sleep behaviour were continuously measured with a Fitbit charge 3.

Evaluation of a standardized test protocol to measure wheelchair-specific anaerobic and aerobic exercise capacity in healthy novices on an instrumented roller ergometer.

This study aims to evaluate whether a test protocol with standardized and individualized resistance settings leads to valid wheelchair Wingate tests (WAnT) and graded exercise tests (GXT) in healthy novices. Twenty able-bodied individuals (10M/10F, age 23 ± 2 years, body mass 72 ± 11 kg) performed an isometric strength test, sprint test, WAnT and GXT on a wheelchair ergometer. Using a previously developed set of regression equations, individuals' isometric strength outcome was used to estimate the WAnT result (P30est), from which an effective individual WAnT resistance was derived.

Predicting resting energy expenditure in people with chronic spinal cord injury.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Objectives: The aims of this study were (1) to validate the two recently developed SCI-specific REE equations; (2) to develop new prediction equations to predict REE in a general population with SCI.

Setting: University, the Netherlands.

A newly developed hand rim for wheelchair tennis improves propulsion technique and efficiency in able-bodied novices.

A new wheelchair tennis hand rim was developed, having a larger contact area and higher friction. How does this new hand rim compare to a regular hand rim regarding submaximal propulsion with a tennis racket during practice in novices? Twenty-four able-bodied novices (12 Regular Rim, 12 New Rim) completed a one-day experiment: pre-test, three practice-sessions and a post-test of 3 × 4 min each on a wheelchair ergometer (1.11 m/s, 7W).

Association between upper-limb isometric strength and handcycling performance in elite athletes.

This study investigated the association among isometric upper-limb strength of handcyclists and sport-specific performance outcomes. At two international events, 62 athletes were tested on upper-limb strength, measured with an isometric-strength setup and with Manual Muscle Test (MMT). Horizontal force (F), effectiveness, rate of development, variability, and asymmetries were calculated for upper-limb pull and push.

External and Internal Work Load During a Mountain Time Trial in Trained Handcyclists Versus a World-Class Handcyclist and Determinants of Performance.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to evaluate the external and internal work load of trained handcyclists during a mountain time trial, to compare the results with a world-class handcyclist, and to identify time trial performance determinants.

Design: Ten trained and one world-class handcyclists performed a graded exercise test to determine power output and heart rate at the (first and second) ventilatory thresholds and exhaustion. Power output and heart rate were continuously measured during the race.

Association between individual wheelchair skills and fitness in community-dwelling manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injuries.

Purpose: Wheelchair skills are a key component to promotion of community participation among persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). The objective of this secondary analysis was to examine the association between individual wheelchair skills from the Wheelchair Skills Test Questionnaire (WST-Q) and fitness among community-dwelling adults with SCI.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-six adults were recruited to complete the WST-Q and a standard graded aerobic wheelchair exercise test on a motorized treadmill for assessing peak power output (PO).

Associations between meeting exercise guidelines, physical fitness, and health in people with spinal cord injury.

Purpose: (1) To estimate the proportion of Dutch wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI) who meet different SCI exercise guidelines; (2) to evaluate which demographic and lesion characteristics are associated with meeting these guidelines; (3) whether meeting these guidelines is associated with physical fitness and health.

Materials And Methods: Based on the PASIPD questionnaire items, participants were allocated to meeting two SCI aerobic exercise guidelines, which differ in exercise load. Differences in personal, lesion, fitness, and health characteristics between groups were tested with a one-way ANOVA.