Objective Measurement of Ball-Handling Proficiency in Wheelchair Sports: A Systematic Review.

Background: In Paralympic sports, classification of athletes based on the impact of impairments on the ability to perform is needed, to prevent a one-sided and predictable outcome of the competition in which the least impaired athlete has the best chance to win. Classification is developing from expert opinion based to evidence based. In wheelchair court sports, there is evidence to support the impact of impairment on wheeled mobility, but not on ball handling.

Perspectives on research conducted at the Paralympic Games.

Background And Purpose: In 1994, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) established the IPC Sport Science Committee in an effort to bring Paralympic Movement relevant research questions to the academic world. In 1996, the IPC Sport Science Committee put an application system in place, allowing scholars to conduct research at the Paralympic Games. The aim of this perspective paper is to overview the main outcomes of the fifty-six research projects conducted from Atlanta 1996 until PyeongChang 2018 during Paralympic Games' time; and to discuss the state-of-the-art of the IPC Research Strategic Goals.

Fitts' Law is Applicable to Trunk Coordination Measurements in a Sitting Position.

Trunk coordination is essential for many activities of daily living in wheelchair users. This study investigated whether Fitts' law is applicable to trunk movements in a sitting position. Fourteen healthy adults performed two series of 24 tasks of trunk flexion-extension movements in a sitting position.

Cognitive-motor dual-task ability of athletes with and without intellectual impairment.

Cognition is important in many sports, for example, making split-second-decisions under pressure, or memorising complex movement sequences. The dual-task (DT) paradigm is an ecologically valid approach for the assessment of cognitive function in conjunction with motor demands. This study aimed to determine the impact of impaired intelligence on DT performance.

Cognitive Predictors of Performance in Well-Trained Table Tennis Players With Intellectual Disability.

Evidence-based classification systems in Paralympic sport require knowledge of the underlying effect of impairment in a specific sport. This study investigated the relationship between cognition and tactical proficiency in 88 well-trained table tennis players with intellectual disability (ID; 29 women, 59 men, M ± SD IQ 59.9 ± 9.

Pacing Ability in Elite Runners with Intellectual Impairment.

Purpose: To understand how athletes invest their energy over a race, differences in pacing ability between athletes with and without intellectual impairment (II) were explored using a novel field test.

Methods: Well-trained runners (n = 67) participated in this study, including 34 runners with II (age = 24.4 ± 4.

Exercise and sports science Australia (ESSA) position statement on exercise and spinal cord injury.

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) may result in tetraplegia (motor and/or sensory nervous system impairment of the arms, trunk and legs) or paraplegia (motor and/or sensory impairment of the trunk and/or legs only). The adverse effects of SCI on health, fitness and functioning are frequently compounded by profoundly sedentary behaviour. People with paraplegia (PP) and tetraplegia (TP) have reduced exercise capacity due to paralysis/paresis and reduced exercising stroke volume.

Cognitive profile of young well-trained athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Background: Previous research has shown that cognitive and motor skills are related. The precise impact of cognitive impairment on sport proficiency, however, is unknown.

Aims: This study investigated group and individual differences in cognitive profiles in a large cohort of track and field athletes, basketball players, swimmers and table tennis players with (N=468) and without (N=162) intellectual disabilities (ID).

Construct Validity of the Trunk Impairment Classification System in Relation to Objective Measures of Trunk Impairment.

Objective: To determine the validity of the Trunk Impairment Classification system (TIC) with 4 possible scores (0, most impaired; 0.5; 1.0; 1.

The impact of trunk impairment on performance of wheelchair activities with a focus on wheelchair court sports: a systematic review.

Background: Trunk impairment seems to impact significantly on performance in wheelchair court sports, but evidence to support this impression has never been systematically assessed. The objective of this study is to systematically review, describe and synthesise the literature investigating the impact of trunk impairment on wheelchair activities in court sports.

Methods: This systematic review was performed according to the consensus statement for the meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology (MOOSE).

Improvement of the classification system for wheelchair rugby: athlete priorities.

A representative sample (N=302) of the wheelchair rugby population responded to a survey about the classification system based on prioritized items by International Wheelchair Rugby Federation members. Respondents stated, "The classification system is accurate but needs adjustments" (56%), "Any athlete with tetraequivalent impairment should be allowed to compete" (72%), "Athletes with cerebral palsy and other coordination impairments should be classified with a system different than the current one" (75%), and "The maximal value for trunk should be increased from 1.0 to 1.

Comparing technical proficiency of elite table tennis players with intellectual disability: simulation testing versus game play.

Technical skill proficiency among elite table tennis players with intellectual disabilities (ID) was investigated in this study using two approaches: an off-court simulation testing protocol and an on-court, standardized observational framework during game play. Participants included 24 players with ID (M age = 25 yr., SD = 6; M IQ = 61, SD = 9), the top 16 performers, 13 men and 11 women, at the International Federation for sport for para-athletes with an intellectual disability (Inas) World Championships.

Wheelchair skills performance between discharge and one year after inpatient rehabilitation in hand-rim wheelchair users with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To study possible changes in wheelchair skills in participants with spinal cord injury between discharge and 1 year after rehabilitation, and to determine whether changes in wheelchair skills performance are related to lesion and personal characteristics, self-efficacy, and wheelchair satisfaction.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Eight rehabilitation centres with spinal cord injury units in the Netherlands.

Test of Wheeled Mobility (TOWM) and a short wheelie test: a feasibility and validity study.

Objective: To assess the feasibility and validity of both the Test of Wheeled Mobility (TOWM) and a wheelie test.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: KU Leuven gymnasium.

Reliability of the test of wheeled mobility (TOWM) and the short Wheelie test.

Objective: To assess the reliability of the Test of Wheeled Mobility (TOWM) and the Wheelie test.

Design: Cohort study.

Setting: Gymnasium.

Reliability and validity of perceived self-efficacy in wheeled mobility scale among elite wheelchair-dependent athletes with a spinal cord injury.

Purpose: To study the reliability and validity of the perceived self-efficacy in wheeled mobility scale among elite athletes with a spinal cord injury (SCI).

Method: During the Beijing Paralympics, 79 participants with SCI completed the SCI Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES), the revised Self-Efficacy in Wheeled Mobility scale (SEWM) and the perceived wheeled mobility (WM) at present Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Sample included athletes from 18 countries and subcategorized by gender, lesion level/completeness and type of sports.

Most essential wheeled mobility skills for daily life: an international survey among paralympic wheelchair athletes with spinal cord injury.

Objectives: To create a hierarchical list of the most essential wheeled mobility (WM) skills for everyday life of wheelchair users with a spinal cord injury (SCI), and to compare perceptions of WM gained during and after clinical rehabilitation.

Design: Cross-sectional study using survey questionnaires.

Setting: The Beijing Paralympic games, at the international zone of the Olympic village and in different sports venues.

Towards evidence-based classification in wheelchair sports: impact of seating position on wheelchair acceleration.

In most Paralympic wheelchair sports, active trunk range of movement is assessed by observing shoulder girdle excursion during active trunk movements and is a key determinant of an athlete's class. However, to date research evaluating the impact of reduced trunk range of movement on wheelchair sports performance has not been conducted. In the present study, 15 non-disabled male participants performed two 20-s sprints on a wheelchair ergometer in each of three seating positions.

Trunk strength effect on track wheelchair start: implications for classification.

Purpose: The T54 wheelchair racing class comprises athletes with normal arm muscle strength and trunk strength ranging from partial to normal. Paralympic sports classes should comprise athletes who have impairments that cause a comparable degree of activity limitation. On the basis of this criterion, the purpose of this study was to determine whether the T54 class is valid by assessing the strength of association between trunk strength and wheelchair acceleration.

Development of a new scale for perceived self-efficacy in manual wheeled mobility: a pilot study.

Objective: To study the psychometric qualities of a perceived self-efficacy in wheeled mobility scale.

Design: Questionnaires.

Subjects: Forty-seven wheelchair basketball players with spinal cord injury (elite n=25, recreational n=22, from 6 different countries).

A systematic review of wheelchair skills tests for manual wheelchair users with a spinal cord injury: towards a standardized outcome measure.

Objective: To review, analyse, evaluate and critically appraise available wheelchair skill tests in the international literature and to determine the need for a standardized measurement tool of manual wheeled mobility in those with spinal cord injury.

Data Sources: A systematic review of literature (databases PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane Library (1970-December 2009).

Subjects: Hand rim wheelchair users, mainly those with spinal cord injury.