title: Wheelchair-specific fitness of inactive people with long-term spinal cord injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe wheelchair-specific anaerobic work capacity, isometric strength and peak aerobic work capacity of physically inactive people with long-term spinal cord injury using outcomes of tests that are feasible for use in rehabilitation centres, and to determine associations among these fitness components.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury for at least 10 years, who were inactive based on a norm score of a physical activity questionnaire (n = 29; 22 men; 20 with paraplegia; median age 53 years).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants performed 3 exercise tests in their own wheelchair to determine: highest 5-s power output over 15-m overground sprinting (P5-15m); highest 3-s isometric push-force (Fiso); and peak power output (POpeak) and peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) over a peak test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median (interquartile range) was in P5-15m 16.1 W (9.4-20.9); in Fiso 399 N (284-610); in POpeak 40.9 W (19.1-54.9); and in VO2peak 1.26 l/min (0.80-1.67). Correlations among outcomes of fitness components were weak (r = 0.50-0.67, p < 0.01), except for P5-15m with POpeak (r = 0.79, p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All fitness components measured in this sample were at relatively low levels, implying a specific need for interventions to improve wheelchair-specific fitness. The weak-to-moderate associations among components imply that separate tests should be used when monitoring wheelchair-specific fitness in rehabilitation centres.
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. j.w.van.der.scheer@med.umcg.nl, j.w.van.der.scheer@umcg.nl, jvdscheer@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: van der Scheer
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Groot
authors.forename: Marga
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tepper
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gobets
authors.forename: Dirkjan H E J
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Veeger
authors.forename: Lucas H V
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: van der Woude
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014910:Wheelchairs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*