Neuromuscular Fatigue after Small-Sided Games in Wheelchair Basketball Players with and without Spinal Cord Injury.

Purpose: The aim was to analyze the differences between wheelchair basketball players with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and without Spinal Cord injury (Non-SCI) in psycho-physiological response and neuromuscular fatigue in a series of small-sided games (SSG). Methods: Thirteen high-level wheelchair basketball male players (age 28.8 ± 9.2 years, body mass 75.9 ± 11.3 kg) participated in four versus four SSG once a week for five consecutive weeks. Absolute and relative heart rate (HR) during SSG and muscular and respiratory perceived exertion (RPEmus and RPEres), tympanic temperature, and acceleration capacity were recorded at the end of each SSG. Results: No significant differences were observed between SCI and non-SCI players in relative HR variables in SSG series. However, the SCI group had a lower absolute HR (mean HR and peak HR) (p < .05 or p < .01, ES = 0.73-1.39) and higher perceived muscular load (RPEmusTL) (p < .01, ES = 0.75-0.82) during SSG. Regarding the evolution of the physiological response, no differences were observed between the four bouts in the SCI group. However, the Non-SCI group showed an increase in the absolute and relative variables of HR and RPEres and RPEmus (p < .05 or p < .01, ES = 0.45-1.06). On the contrary, only the SCI group showed a loss of acceleration capacity between the four series (p < .05, ES = 0.28-0.35). Conclusion: The results of this study show that there are differences between SCI and non-SCI wheelchair basketball players in their physiological response and acceleration capacity during SSG tasks.

Analysis of the Barriers and Motives for Practicing Physical Activity and Sport for People with a Disability: Differences According to Gender and Type of Disability.

The aim of the study was to analyse the perception of the barriers and motives for the practice of physical activity (PA) in people with a disability, according to gender and type of disability. The participants in this investigation were 103 people with a disability (33.25 ± 11.86 years) who were habitual users of PA or sports programmes. They completed the questionnaire Motives and Barriers for Physical Activity and Sport (MBAFD). The results showed that personal barriers were more important than environmental ones and that the most outstanding motives were those related to leisure, enjoyment or social aspects. Regarding gender, women perceived more barriers than men. For the people with physical (PD) and intellectual (ID) disabilities, the most common barriers were of an intrinsic nature, and for those with a visual disability (VD), barriers of an environmental nature. With respect to the motives, people with PD gave higher scores to the items related to aspects of physical improvement and rehabilitation. In contrast, people with ID and VD placed more importance on reasons of leisure, enjoyment and social relations. Knowledge of these findings can be a tool to help increase the provision of PA for people with a disability.