Although swimmers with the lowest swimming class experienced the highest passive drag and vice versa, the inconsistent difference in mean passive drag between adjacent classes indicates that the current classification system does not always differentiate clearly between swimming groups.

Introduction: Paralympic classification should provide athletes with an equitable starting point for competition by minimizing the impact their impairment has on the outcome of the event. As swimming is an event conducted in water, the ability to overcome drag (active and passive) is an important performance determinant. It is plausible that the ability to do this is affected by the type and severity of the physical impairment, but the current World Para Swimming classification system does not objectively account for this component. The aim of this study was to quantify active and passive drag in Para swimmers and evaluate the strength of association between these measures and type of physical impairment, swimming performance, and sport class. Methods: Seventy-two highly trained Para swimmers from sport classes S1 to S10 and 14 highly trained nondisabled swimmers were towed by a motorized winch while the towing force was recorded. Passive drag was measured with the arms held by the side; active drag was determined during freestyle swimming using an assisted towing method. Results: Active and passive drag were higher in Para swimmers with central motor and neuromuscular impairments than for nondisabled swimmers and were associated with severity of swim-specific impairment (sport class) and maximal freestyle performance in these swimmers (r = −0.40 to −0.50, P ≤ 0.02). Para swimmers with anthropometric impairments showed similar active and passive drag to nondisabled swimmers, and between swimmers from different sport classes. Conclusions: Para swimmers with central motor and neuromuscular impairments are predisposed to high active drag during freestyle swimming that impacts on their performance. It is recommended that drag measures be considered in revised classification for these swimmers, but not for those with anthropometric impairments.

The study aimed to explore the influence of a sports‐specific intermittent sprint protocol (ISP) on wheelchair sprint performance and the kinetics and kinematics of sprinting in elite wheelchair rugby (WR) players with and without spinal cord injury (SCI). Fifteen international WR players (age 30.3 ± 5.5 years) performed two 10‐s sprints on a dual roller wheelchair ergometer before and immediately after an ISP consisting of four 16‐min quarters. Physiological measurements (heart rate, blood lactate concentration, and rating of perceived exertion) were collected. Three‐dimensional thorax and bilateral glenohumeral kinematics were quantified. Following the ISP, all physiological parameters significantly increased (p ≤ 0.027), but neither sprinting peak velocity nor distance traveled changed. Players propelled with significantly reduced thorax flexion and peak glenohumeral abduction during both the acceleration (both −5°) and maximal velocity phases (−6° and 8°, respectively) of sprinting post‐ISP. Moreover, players exhibited significantly larger mean contact angles (+24°), contact angle asymmetries (+4%), and glenohumeral flexion asymmetries (+10%) during the acceleration phase of sprinting post‐ISP. Players displayed greater glenohumeral abduction range of motion (+17°) and asymmetries (+20%) during the maximal velocity phase of sprinting post‐ISP. Players with SCI (SCI, n = 7) significantly increased asymmetries in peak power (+6%) and glenohumeral abduction (+15%) during the acceleration phase post‐ISP. Our data indicates that despite inducing physiological fatigue resulting from WR match play, players can maintain sprint performance by modifying how they propel their wheelchair. Increased asymmetry post‐ISP was notable, which may be specific to impairment type and warrants further investigation.

The inherent hydrodynamic resistance force, or passive drag, of a swimmer directly influences how they move through the water. For swimmers with physical impairments, the strength of association between passive drag and swimming performance is unknown. Knowledge on this factor could improve the World Para Swimming classification process. This study established the relationship between passive drag and 100 m freestyle race performance in Para swimmers with physical impairments. Using a cross‐sectional study design, an electrical‐mechanical towing device was used to measure passive drag force in 132 international‐level Para swimmers. There was a strong, negative correlation between normalized passive drag force and 100 m freestyle race speed in the combined participant cohort (ρ = −0.77, p < 0.001). Type of physical impairment was found to affect the relationship between passive drag and 100 m freestyle race speed when included in linear regression (R2 = 0.65, χ2 = 11.5, p = 0.025). These findings contribute to the body of evidence that passive drag can provide an objective assessment of activity limitation in Para swimmers with physical impairments. The effect of physical impairment type on the relationship between passive drag and swimming performance should be accounted for in Para swimming classification.

Patients discharged from hospitals following the onset of an acute illness or injury rendered with disabling conditions require systematic medical-based and rehabilitation-focused sports and exercise programs accessible in their communities. This proposal aims to build a data-driven smart health system that allows people with disabilities to continuously improve their health by alleviating modifiable factors, including architectural barriers and related challenges following discharge from an inpatient hospital or rehabilitation course. Our goal is to promote a multi-ministerial data-driven innovative medical exercise system using a digital living lab platform as a testbed program to provide lifestyle exercise and physical education for community-dwelling individuals with disabilities. The pilot program of services will be rendered at the living lab center of the National Rehabilitation Center, equipped with data servers for storing accumulated pertinent information and continuous data acquisition. We envision an encrypted data collection and acquisition system, whereby newly acquired data will be merged with data information from original records of individuals generated during the inpatient hospital course.