Reliability Of Arm Wingate Anaerobic Testing In Persons With Complete Paraplegia

• Published in: The journal of spinal cord medicine 2003, Vol.26 (2), p.141-144
• Main Authors: Jacobs, Patrick L., Mahoney, Edward T., Johnson, Brad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Adult; Anaerobic Threshold - physiology; Arm - physiopathology; Arm power; Ergometry; Exercise Test; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Muscle, Skeletal - physiopathology; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Paraplegia; Paraplegia - etiology; Paraplegia - physiopathology; Paraplegia - rehabilitation; Rehabilitation; Reproducibility of Results; Spinal cord injuries; Spinal Cord Injuries - complications; Spinal Cord Injuries - physiopathology; Spinal Cord Injuries - rehabilitation; Upper extremity power; Wingate Anaerobic Testing
• ISSN: 1079-0268; 2045-7723
• DOI: 10.1080/10790268.2003.11753674

Background: Accurate, reliable assessment of upper extremity muscular power in persons with paraplegia caused by spinal cord injury (SCI) would provide an objective indication of their ability to generate the forces necessary for the performance of daily activities. Wingate Anaerobic Testing (WAnT) consists of a 30-second sprint test on a cycle ergometer and has been used widely in both athletic and research settings. Purpose: To examine test-retest reliability of arm WAnT performance in persons with complete SCI and paraplegia. Methods: Forty-three participants with thoracic-level paraplegia (T2 through T12) performed 2 trials of arm WAnT with 2 to 7 days between each trial. Testing was performed using a Monarch 834E ergometer with participants seated in their wheelchairs. Participants were directed to crank at maximal pace for 30 seconds against a resistance load equivalent to 3.5% of their body mass. The SMI OptoSensor 2000 system was used to determine values of peak power (P peak ), mean power (P mean ), minimum power, and rate of fatigue, which were compared between trials using 1-way analysis of variance for repeated measures. Coeffi cients of determination (r 2 ) were calculated between trials for P peak and P mean . Results: No significant diffe rence was found between trials for any of the power output variables. Regression analysis ind icat ed that P peak and P mean were closely associated between the 2 trials (r 2 = 0.92 and 0.94, respectively). Conclusion: Arm WAnT is a reliable measurement tool for the assessment of upper extremity muscular power in persons with complete paraplegia.