Thoracoabdominal mobility is improved in subjects with tetraplegia after one year of wheelchair rugby training

Abstract

Summary Objective The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of one year of wheelchair rugby training on thoracoabdominal mobility and its association with lung volume in adults with tetraplegia. Equipment and methods Participants (10 male adults with chronic spinal cord injury at cervical level) underwent to regular training in wheelchair rugby. At the beginning and after one year of training, lung volume and tridimensional mobility of four-chest wall compartments (superior and inferior thorax, superior and inferior abdomen) were obtained by spirometric testing and kinematic analysis, respectively. Results Seven athletes completed the study. During quiet breathing, significant improvements and linear relationships were observed for the tidal volume (16.9%), superior thorax (61.3%) and inferior thorax mobility (83.7%). During maximal breathing, significant improvements were found for the vital capacity (24.8%) and superior thorax mobility (31.5%). Besides that, there was also a significant linear relationship between the vital capacity volumes and mobility in the superior and inferior thorax and superior abdomen. These findings could support the practice of wheelchair rugby to reduce respiratory dysfunction in tetraplegics.