Evaluation of sprint exercise testing protocols in wheelchair athletes.
METHODS
Comparison of five different exercise testing protocols with different speeds on a treadmill with seven wheelchair athletes.


OBJECTIVE
To determine which speed and duration in an exercise protocol is best to test wheelchair athletes performing sprint races on a track.


METHODS
Swiss Paraplegic Centre, Nottwil, Switzerland.


METHODS
Three elite and four junior wheelchair athletes (18.7+/-6.8 years, 52.1+/-9.7 kg and 165.3+/-19.3 cm) performed five different exercise testing protocols at different speeds on a treadmill until exhaustion. Maximal effort treadmill (0.7% incline) testing protocols were performed using three timeframes. The first was focussing on short duration tests (S1 and S2) where incremental increases in velocity (0.42 and 0.1 m.s(-1)) were required from a stationary start. The second were medium duration tests (M1 and M2) where the athlete started at their 200 m and 800 m personal best time (mean velocities) and then had the velocity increased 1 km.h(-1) by every 10 and 60 s respectively. The long duration test (L) started at 14 km.h(-1) and velocity was increased by 2 km.h(-1) every 120 s. Maximal heart rate, maximal concentration of lactate, maximal speed, and maximal duration of the test were measured.


RESULTS
The highest concentration of lactate and the highest heart rates were measured in the longest tests.


CONCLUSIONS
During maximal effort testing wheelchair athletes are able to produce higher lactate concentrations when tested for longer duration. Post test lactate assessments provide little information in short duration testing protocols. Sequential lactate assessments post-test may provide additional information on the rate of recovery for middle distance wheelchair athletes and warrants further investigation.
Knechtle
B
B
Institute of Sports Medicine, Swiss Paraplegic Centre, Nottwil, Switzerland.
Hardegger
K
K
Müller
G
G
Odermatt
P
P
Eser
P
P
Knecht
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries; D014910:Wheelchairs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D019344:Lactic Acid