SummaryThe wheelchair marathon is one of the most difficult sports for participants with much uncertainty regarding the security of the paraplegics. The physical fitness of paraplegics has been examined regularly since The Oita International Wheelchair Marathon (half marathon) was inaugurated (1981). A full marathon (42·195 km) was adopted at The 3rd Meeting (1983). The individual equations between heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption V02 were drawn from the preliminary test on the subjects who were expected to be among the top finishers in these races. V02 during these races was indirectly estimated and showed a fairly low value (35'0 ± 3,8 ml/kg/min in the full race, 32-7 ± 6-3 ml/kg/min in the half race respectively) in comparison with able-bodied elite runners. However, the paraplegic participants had extremely high HR (171·6 ± 20·5 beats/min, 168·1 ± 9·8) con tinuously throughout the race. Though the ratio of active muscle mass of arms to legs in paraplegic athletes may approximate to near equal, paraplegic arms seem to exert physiologically and mechanically less efficient power. There were no significant differences in physical fitness between the full and the half marathon elite finishers. The cardiovascular function of paraplegic athletes may well be ranked among those of able-bodied athletes in their fitness. Full wheelchair marathon seems to be safe if it is held in an appropriate environment.
Si � c � the introduction of intermittent s � lf-catheterisation by Lapides et ai, 1 low pressure vOldmg methods have been adopted acttvely in our centre. A retrospective review of 47 p atien � s with cervic � l s l? inal cord inju � y (CSC!) who performed independent (self) clean mtermlttent cathetensatton (CIC) on dIscharge IS presented. Their functional abilities were evaluated by both the Frankel 2 and the Zancolli scales. 3 Fourteen out of the 47 patients could I? anage ind � pende !l t CIC, 17 � ssisted CIC, nine tapped or voided voluntarily, two were dIscharged WIth a dIaper, one WIth a suprapubic catheter, and four with an indwelling cath � ter. Accor . din � to Frankel's classification, four patients were in A category, four in B, one m � and flve m D among the group of complete CIC. C6A/C5B (right/left hand) by Za t;I colh's classification was the highest level of ability for all these 14 patients; and one pattent (a 30-year-old male, Frankel B classification) could manage independent CIC with the aid of our special device. However, the practical limit of functional hands for independent CIC appeared to be about C6Bl.
Wheelchair bound paraplegics tend to spend a sedentary life. They seem to be vulnerable to prolonged strenuous exertion because of their many physical handicaps such as metabolic depression, cardiovascular instability, urinary incontinence, pressure sores and so on. In commemoration of The International Year of the Disabled, The First Oita International Wheelchair Marathon was held in Autumn of 1981. This paper is to review the results of an experiment made at this half marathon. The course length was 21.1 km. Ten competitors were selected at random as the subjects for measuring energy expenditure during the race. As a preliminary examination, a work load test was performed by using a wheelchair treadmill to obtain a regression equation of the individual relationship between oxygen uptake and heart rates. The oxygen uptake of individuals during the race was estimated from the heart rates which were recorded by the small memory box fixed beneath the wheelchair. Six subjects were successfully examined. The results revealed that paraplegics safely tolerated the prolonged strenuous exercise. Their average oxygen uptake, mean heart rate and the lap time during the race were 34.17 +/- 8.11 ml/kg/min (mean +/- SD), 167.6 +/- 15.8 beats/min and 87.1 +/- 9.1 min respectively. Heart rate of the subjects was always very high during the race, although oxygen consumption was fairly low in comparison to able-bodied elite marathon runners.
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