Reliability of Upper Extremity Wingate Anaerobic Testing in Persons With Complete Tetraplegia

Abstract

0793 Accurate and reliable assessment of anaerobic power production provides important information regarding the ability to perform tasks requiring repeated bursts of muscular force. Arm Wingate anaerobic testing (WAnT), a 30-sec sprint on an arm cycle ergometer, has been found to be a reliable measure of upper extremity muscular power in persons without physical disabilities and in persons with paraplegia. PURPOSE: To examine test-retest reliability of arm WAnT performance in persons with complete cervical level spinal cord injury (SCI). METHODS: Forty five persons with motor complete SCI at levels C5-C7, performed two trials of WAnT. The study sample included three groups of 15 persons each at the C5, C6, and C7 levels of injury. Testing was performed using a Monark 834 E leg ergometer (Monark, Varberg, Sweden) attached to a table, foot pedals replaced with cushioned handgrips. The resistance load used during WAnT was 1%, 2%, and 3% of body mass for subjects in the C5, C6, and C7 groups, respectively. Power output during arm WAnT was determined by the SMI OptoSensor 2000 (Sports Medicine Industries, Inc., St. Cloud, MN, USA) hardware and software package. Measurements from testing included peak power (Ppk) and mean power (Pmn), which were compared between trials and between groups using two-way ANOVAs for repeated measures. Coefficients of determination (r2) were calculated between trials for Ppk and Pmn in each group. RESULTS: Results indicated significant differences between groups (C7>C6>C5) for both Ppk and Pmn, with no significant differences detected between trials for Ppk or Pmn. The r2 values between trials, for the three groups, ranged from 0.91 to .97 for Ppk and from .93 to .98 for Pmn. CONCLUSION: Upper extremity WAnT testing is a reliable outcome measure for assessment of anaerobic muscular power in persons with SCI tetraplegia.