Objective: To examine whether the psychological bene®ts of sports activity di er between tetraplegics and paraplegics with spinal cord injury, and investigate the e ect of frequency and modes of sports activity on the psychological bene®ts. Methods: The Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Pro®les of Mood States (POMS) were administered to 169 male individuals with spinal cord injury (mean age=42.7 years) including 53 tetraplegics and 116 paraplegics. The subjects were divided into four groups according to their frequencies of sports activity; High-active (more than three times a week; n=32), Middle-active (once or twice a week, n=41), Low-active (once to three times a month, n=32), and Inactive (no sports participation, n=64). Results: Analysis of variance revealed signi®cant di erences in depression for SDS, trait anxiety for STAI and depression and vigor for POMS among the groups. High-active group showed the lowest scores of depression and trait anxiety and the highest score of vigor among the four groups. In contrast, no signi®cant di erence was found for any psychological measurements between tetraplegics and paraplegics. In addition, there was no signi®cant di erence for any psychological measurements among modes (wheelchair basketball, wheelchair racing, wheelchair tennis and minor modes). Conclusions: These ®ndings demonstrated that sports activity can improve the psychological status, irrespective of tetraplegics and paraplegics, and that the psychological bene®ts are emphasized by sports activity at high frequency. Spinal Cord (2000) 38, 309 ± 314

No abstract

This study evaluates the physical and physiological ability of selected soccer players of Kunimi High School in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The Kunimi team is famous for its intensive training, and had won the championship of the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament six times by 2003. We measured physique, body composition, and maximal oxygen uptake of 72 members aged between 16 and 18 years old between 1986 and 1994. They consisted of 66 outfield players (12 forward players, 23 midfielders, 31 defenders) and 6 goalkeepers. Body density was measured by the under-water weighing method, and Brozek's equation was applied to calculate percentage body fat (%Fat, %), fat-free mass (FFM, kg), FFM/height (FFM/Ht, kg · m Ϫ1 ), and FFM index (FFM/Ht 3 , kg · m Ϫ3 ). The following results were obtained: 1. The average of 66 outfield players was 172.7 cm of height, 64.6 kg of weight, 54.0 cm of girth of thigh, and 90.0 cm of girth of hip, 9.3% of %Fat, 58.6 kg of FFM, 33.9 kg · m Ϫ1 of FFM/Ht and 113.8 kg · m Ϫ3 of FFM index. The mean vital capacity was 4.25 L and total lung capacity was 5.58 L. The mean maximal ventilation was 138.7 L · min Ϫ1 , VO 2 max was 3.95 L · min Ϫ1 , and VO 2 max/Wt was 61.4 ml · kg Ϫ1 · min Ϫ1 . 2. Goalkeepers were taller and heavier than outfielders, and had a smaller mean value of VO 2 max/Wt than outfielders (pϽ0.01). 3. For 23 out of the 72 players measured twice with an interval of about one year, FFM increased and %Fat reduced significantly, while V E max, VO 2 max and VO 2 max/Wt did not change. Kunimi players of the present study had as large a VO 2 max/Wt as local players, and a similar or slightly smaller VO 2 max/Wt than national-level players. They had similar %Fat and a similar VO 2 max/Wt with professional soccer players in England (Davis et al., 1992) while they had much smaller physiques.

The present study investigated the difference in oxygen kinetics in the exercising muscle between arm cranking and leg cycling in women. Twenty-seven females completed incremental arm cranking and leg cycling tests on separate days. During each exercise, spatially resolved near-infrared spectroscopy was used to measure changes in the tissue oxygen saturation ( SO(2)), oxygenated (oxy-) hemoglobin and/or myoglobin (Hb/Mb), deoxygenated (deoxy-) Hb/Mb, and total Hb/Mb in the triceps during arm cranking and in the vastus lateralis during leg cycling. During arm cranking, there was a rapid increase in the respiratory exchange ratio and a lower ventilatory threshold compared to leg cycling, which confirmed accelerated anaerobic glycolysis in this mode of exercise. During leg cycling, SO(2) remained decreased near to or until approaching peak oxygen uptake (VO(2peak)). During arm cranking, however, the decrease in oxy-Hb/Mb and increase in deoxy-Hb/Mb stopped at the middle of VO(2peak) (mean 51.4%), consequently resulting in a leveling off in the SO(2 )decrease, although total Hb/Mb continued to increase. These results might suggest that the oxygen demand in the triceps attained the maximum at that intensity, despite an adequate oxygen supply during arm cranking.

The age-related pattern of body density and body composition in Japanese males (n = 266) and females (n = 318), 11.00 to 18.99 years of age was studied. Body density (BD) as well as height, body weight, and seven skinfold thicknesses were measured. Percentage fat (%Fat) was calculated using the age- and sex-specific equation of Lohman. Fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and the body mass index (BMI) were calculated. The trend for BD in males was lowest at 11 years (1.0530 g/ml) and increased to 1.0695 g/ml at 14 years, and then decreased slightly at 15 to 17 years. In female, BD decreased from 1.0530 g/ml at 13 years to 1.0424 g/ml at 17 years. Mean %Fat was highest in males at 11 years (15.8%), and lowest at 14 years (10.1%). The highest mean %Fat in females occurred at 16 years (22.8%), and the lowest at age 11 years (15.2%). Overall, only 6.8% of males and 3.1% of females were classified as obese. Between 11 and 18 years, FFM of males differed by 20.7 kg or 67.9%, whereas females showed a difference of only 10.8 kg or 34.7%. Consequently, age effects explained approximately 60% of the male variance of FFM but only 26% in females. Body density of each sex and age group in this study did not differ significantly from previous Japanese studies, and the pooled BD data for 1,457 Japanese including the present study are reported as a reference.