Abstract
The purpose of this investigation was to compare peak performance capabilities of male paraplegics with arm crank and wheelchair ergometry. Eleven male paraplegics (aged 26.0 ± 4.5 years) with spinal lesions at levels ranging from T5 to L4 were assessed during arm cranking and while propelling a wheelchair on a treadmill. Subjects completed both tests in randomised order within a 1 week period with a minimum of 48 hours between tests.
Based on the data analysis, peak V˙O2 for the treadmill and arm crank were not significantly different while HR values for the treadmill were significantly greater (P < 0.05) when compared to arm crank. A regression analysis indicated that wheelchair treadmill peak V˙O2 values can be accurately predicted from arm crank peak V˙O2 (r = 0.74).
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McConnell, T., Horvat, M., Beutel-Horvat, T. et al. Arm crank versus wheelchair treadmill ergometry to evaluate the performance of paraplegics. Spinal Cord 27, 307–313 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1989.46
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1989.46