Abstract
Background: in Paralympic Powerlifting (PP), athletes with a spinal cord injury (SCI) and other disabilities (OD) compete together. However, athletes with SCI are at a disadvantage in terms of force production and transfer. Objective: to analyze the strength and the dynamic and static indicators, at different intensities, tied and untied in athletes with SCI and OD. Methods: the sample presented 10 OD (28.30 ± 4.92 years) and 10 SCI (30.00 ± 4.27 years), classified competitors, and eligible to compete in the sport (all males). Maximum isometric force (MIF); time to MIF (Time); rate of force development (RFD); impulse, variability, and fatigue index (FI); and the dynamic tests of Mean Propulsive Velocity (MPV), Velocity Maximum (Vmax), and Power with loads of 40, 60, and 80% of 1 Repetition Maximum (1 RM), respectively. Results: there were no differences between OD and SCI in dynamic and isometric strength indicators. In MPV, there was an 80% difference between tethered and untethered SCI (p = 0.041). In VMax, there were differences in SCI between tethered and untethered, 40% (p = 0.004) and 80% (p = 0.023), respectively. There were no differences in the other intensities. Conclusion: PP training seems to be a sustainable way to promote strength gains in SCI, since there were no differences between athletes with SCI and OD, as practitioners of Paralympic Powerlifting.
Highlights
Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects about 500,000 people worldwide [1], whether of traumatic etiology or not [1,2]
It should be noted that in Paralympic Powerlifting (PP), the lifts are performed with legs extended over the bench, with the athletes being strapped or not. This position, by itself, tends to reduce the transfer of force in the PP [14]. This lack of strength was not observed in our study, emphasizing that the practice of PP could be an indicated practice to sustain this improvement in terms of strength generation in the spinal cord injury (SCI), where the results indicate that there are no differences in strength indicators, static and dynamic, between SCI and other disabilities (OD), whether or not they are tied
We conclude that PP athletes with SCI present the same strength pattern, or even higher, when compared with OD
Summary
Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects about 500,000 people worldwide [1], whether of traumatic etiology or not [1,2]. SCI is characterized by physical disability and a decreased quality of life [3]. The most indicated treatments in rehabilitation include physical exercises, among other approaches [1], where exercises and sports practices have been presented as Sustainability 2022, 14, 2017. SCI would have a negative impact on performance, making it difficult to maintain strength, power, and speed, among others. Added to these facts, in SCI, fatigue tends to appear prematurely, due to the physiological interactions of the deficiency [5]. The absence or decrease in autonomic control would be reduced in SCI, with a negative impact on performance and fatigue [6]
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