Multi-joint isometric measurement for the evidence-based assessment of upper limb strength impairment in wheelchair athletes with different health conditions: a preliminary study

  1. Domínguez-Díez, Marta 1
  2. Raya-González, Javier 2
  3. Elvira, Jose 3
  4. Reina, Raul 3
  1. 1 Universidad Europea de Madrid
    info

    Universidad Europea de Madrid

    Madrid, España

    ROR https://ror.org/04dp46240

  2. 2 Universidad Internacional Isabel I de Castilla
    info

    Universidad Internacional Isabel I de Castilla

    Burgos, España

    ROR https://ror.org/055sgt471

  3. 3 Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
    info

    Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche

    Elche, España

    ROR https://ror.org/01azzms13

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Revista:
Biology of Sport

ISSN: 0860-021X

Año de publicación: 2022

Volumen: 40

Número: 3

Páginas: 723–730

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.5114/BIOLSPORT.2023.119286 GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAcceso abierto editor

Otras publicaciones en: Biology of Sport

Resumen

The present study presents a novel specific multi-joint isometric test to assess upper limb strengthimpairment for evidence-based classification in wheelchair sports. Sixteen wheelchair athletes participated inthis study and were classified according to their type of physical impairment and health condition as follows:athletes with neurological impairment (ANI, n = 5) and athletes with impaired muscle power (IMP, n = 11).In addition, six non-disabled participants formed a control group (CG, n = 6). All the participants performedthe isometric propulsion strength test (IPST), evaluating pushing and pulling actions, and two wheelchairperformance tests. Excellent relative intra-session reliability scores were obtained for strength values for theANI, IMP and CG groups (0.90 < ICC < 0.99) and absolute reproducibility showed acceptable scores of SEM(< 9.52%) for IPST pushing action. The ANI had significantly lower scores in strength and wheelchair performancethan the IMP and the CG, while no differences were found between the IMP and the non-disabled participants.In addition, no correlations were found for wheelchair athletes between the isometric upper limb strengthmeasure and wheelchair performance. Our findings suggest that the IPST is a valid test for strength measurementin upper limb impairment wheelchair athletes with different health conditions, which must be used in combinationwith a performance test to obtain a holistic assessment of this population.

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