Characteristics of upper extremity’s muscle strength in Turkish national wheelchair basketball players team

Abstract

The objective of this study was to reveal characteristics of muscle strength of upper extremities of wheelchair (WC) basketball players and to ensure more-specific training program preparation. Isokinetic muscle strength of 12 WC basketball players were assessed by ISOMED 2000 device. The assessment protocol was evaluated at 60°/sec velocity with 5 times repeated force and at 240°/sec with 15 times repeated force. This protocol was carried out individually for shoulder flexion-extension and wrist flexion-extension movements at the right and left extremities. The flexion/extension ratio was determined to be outside of the ratios accepted as normal for primarily shoulder joint and for wrist joint. The extension movement was stronger than flexion movement in the shoulders at both velocities and the flexion movement was stronger than ex-tension movement in the wrist. The repeat times where the peak torque occurred were 2–3 repeats at 60°/sec velocity during flexion and extension movements for the wrist and shoulders, and the peak torque occurred at an average of 5–6 repeats in the shoulders at 240°/sec velocity and it occurred at 3–4 repeats in the wrist. The angles where the peak torque of the shoulder flexion and extension occurred varied between 80°–115° at both velocities, and it varied between 5°–30° angles for the wrist. As this study revealed, determination of muscle strength characteristics of WC athletes and especially using objective isokinetic devices will guide the planning of the appropriate training and exercise programs and preventing sports injuries in long term.

Factors Influencing Speed of Collegiate Wheelchair Basketball Players

“…Exercise develops social integration for people with disabilities by improving their self-confidence, self-competency and life quality. [1][2][3] In recent studies, the focus of adaptive sport has begun to focus on wheelchair propulsion biomechanics and optimal wheelchair configuration for the adaptive athlete to be most successful in his or her respective sport. The two major components of wheelchair sport performance are the athlete and the wheelchair.…”

“…Classification is based on the function of the trunk, the upper extremities, the lower extremities and the hands, relying mostly on the movement and stability of the player's trunk. 1,5,9 Trunk movement and stability is based on the athlete's physical capacity to perform fundamental basketball movements such as pushing their chair, dribbling, shooting, passing, catching, rebounding, and reacting to contact. 9,12 Similar to able-bodied athletes, wheelchair athletes look for more efficient ways to train and improve their technique or fitness.…”

“…12 Existing research studies concerning wheelchair basketball performance have included sprint tests, strength testing, analyses of hand rim wheelchair propulsion and body position in the chair, and comparison of player classifications. 1,4,9,10,13,14 The purposes of these studies have focused on wheelchair propulsion biomechanics, push characteristics in wheelchair court sprinting, and wheelchair configuration for optimal mobility performance in wheelchair sports. 1,6,10,11 This study focuses on the biomechanics of the wheelchair basketball player's manual propulsion and factors directly related to the participant rather than external factors or wheelchair configuration.…”

Effects of a therapeutic exercise program for injuries prevention in wheelchair basketball (WB) players = Efectividad de un programa de ejercicios terapéutico para la prevención de lesiones de jugadores de baloncesto en silla de ruedas (BSR)

“…According to previous researches, elite females and males WB players report many injuries such as ischial deep tissue injury (Mutsuzaki, Tachibana, Shimizu, Hotta, Fukaya, Karasawa, et al, 2014;Shimizu, Mutsuzaki, Tachibana, Tsunoda, Hotta, Fukaya, et al, 2017), upper limbs muscle strength alterations (Akınoğlu & Kocahan, 2017). Also, high prevalence of SP and rotator cuff pathology were found (Lim, Yoo, Lee, Lee, & Kwon, 2014) and the difference of the risk of SP between males and females (Tsunoda et al, 2016;.…”

“…For these reason, the presented SHEP appears as a convenient tool to maintain the shoulder condition during the trainings process, where players realize a high level of training, high impact loading and repeated actions that can develop injuries Some studies (Nawoczenski et al, 2006;Mulroy et al, 2011;Van Straaten et al, 2014;Satyavanshi et al, 2017;Mulroy et al, 2017) show how exercise program could influence in SP in wheelchair population. On other hand, previous researches (Tsunoda et al, 2016;Shimizu et al, 2017;Akınoğlu & Kocahan, 2017) are developed in elite WB population including the evaluation and prevention of shoulder injury in collegiate WB payers (Wilroy & Hibberd, 2017). Nonetheless, this study implemented the SHEP International Doctoral Dissertation to maintain/improve shoulder condition of the elite WB players in this particular context working in line with teams´ technical strategy.…”