2003 Director's Summary Synopsis

MEASURING FITNESS IN PEOPLE WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY
Patrick L. Jacobs, Ph.D.

Many daily activities performed by people with SCI, like shifting body weight and propelling wheelchairs, require that the person have enough strength to perform the task only over a short period of time. An important goal in rehabilitation is for the person to perform daily activities successfully and safely. To accurately evaluate rehabilitation programs as well as an individual’s progress, rehabilitation clinicians need objective evidence-based tests that are relatively inexpensive and easy to use.

Miami Project exercise physiologist Dr. Patrick Jacobs is conducting research to evaluate Wingate Anaerobic Testing in both paraplegics and tetraplegics. This test, used widely in athletics and research with able-bodied individuals, is a relatively short and simple means of assessing anaerobic power capacity. Using an upper extremity cycle ergometer, the person is asked to crank as fast and as hard as possible in a 30-second sprint test.

In the first study, Dr. Jacobs found that Wingate Anaerobic Testing is a reliable means of measuring upper extremity capacity in persons with paraplegia. The second study addresses its use in people with tetraplegia. Because of the varying degrees of upper extremity impairment seen in cervical injuries, Dr. Jacobs set out to determine the optimal testing parameters for different levels of cervical SCI. While his research shows the test to be reliable in assessing exercise capacity in paraplegics, studies will be required to further define the parameters and determine the test’s reliability in tetraplegics. As evidence about the reliability of this simple testing procedure becomes available, rehabilitation clinicians will have a new tool to use in assessing function and prescribing interventions to improve quality of life in people with all levels of SCI.

Synopsis Publications

 Jacobs PL, Mahoney ET, Johnson B (2003) Reliability of arm Wingate Anaerobic Testing in persons with complete paraplegia. J Spinal Cord Med 26:141- 144.