Types and severity of physical impairments of para taekwondo athletes.

BACKGROUND: Para taekwondo has only recently been added to the Paralympic games scheduled to be held in 2021; however, there is limited research on the classification of the para taekwondo athletes. This study aimed to provide details on the impairments and disabilities of the para taekwondo players. The secondary objective was to investigate the relationship between some of the proposed factors and the athletes' rankings. METHODS: The data of 556 para taekwondo athletes (119 females and 437 males), who had been classified over the past 5 years, were analyzed. RESULTS: The K44 class was the most popular, and 61% of the classified athletes belonged to this class. Acute injury from trauma was the most frequent cause of impairment, and 62.3% of all impairments/disabilities occurred during 0-5 years of age. Approximately 28% of the athletes had <1 year of training prior to international competitions. One-way analysis of variance performed for the combined length of the upper limbs showed significant differences (F(3,311)=455.78, P<0.001) among the K41-K44 classes. There were weak correlations (ρ<0.1) between the ranking and the age of the disability/impairment onset, combined length of the upper limbs, and type of disability. CONCLUSIONS: Continued data collection that provides insights into the impairment profiles of para taekwondo athletes is needed to improve the current classification system in order to enhance the safety and fairness.

A PC-based system for evaluating the efficacy of the NESS Handmaster orthosis.

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a viable alternative to conventional treatments aimed at restoring function and mobility following central nervous system (CNS) damage. Muscle contractions are converted into functional activity, thus, its wide range of clinical applications. Research efforts are currently focused on the development of programmable stimulators that enable the patient to perform tasks related to activities of daily living. Herein, we present a PC-based surface stimulator that enables the user to vary the stimulus waveform and the activation sequence of different muscle groups within a wide range of options. This instrumentation is not only a development platform for other, more sophisticated neuroprostheses, but an essential tool for evaluating the rehabilitative efficacy of the NESS Handmaster (NESS Ltd., Israel). Our PC-based stimulator reproduces Handmaster motor tasks by selectively activating the five muscle groups that control the hand, palmar, and lateral grasps. The stimulator is entirely controlled by the plegic patient with the push of a button. The ancillary software permits acquisition of up to sixteen analog channels, so that feedback signals for closed-loop control of the grasp function can be measured.