Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide a predictive peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2 peak) equation in wheelchair-dependent athletes using the Adapted Léger and Boucher test.Subjects and protocol: Fifty-six wheelchair-dependent athletes, 47 males and nine females (30.3±4 years), underwent a clinical examination to assess their anthropometric characteristics: height, mass, body mass index (BMI), lean body mass, arm length, and muscular arm volume. They performed a deceleration field test to assess the subject-wheelchair resistance defined as a mechanical variable, and they then performed the Adapted Léger and Boucher test to assess physiological data at maximal exercise (V̇O2 peak, heart rate max) concomitantly with biomechanical (number of pushes) and performance variables (maximal aerobic velocity Vamax and maximal distance). The V̇O2 peak was measured directly using a portable telemetric oxygen analyzer. Subjects were then randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=49) to determine the predictive equation, and a validation group (n=7) to check the external validity of the equation.Results: A stepwise multiple regression with V̇O2 peak (l min−1) as the dependent variable led to the following equation: V̇O2 peak=0.22 Vamax − 0.63 log(age)+0.05 BMI 0.25 level+0.52, with r2=0.81 and SEE=0.01. Paraplegic subjects with high and low lesion level spinal injuries were attributed the coefficient of 1 and 0, respectively. The external validity of the equation was positive since the predicted V̇O2 peak values did not significantly differ from directly measured V̇O2 peak (P>0.05).Conclusion: We concluded that V̇O2 peak in wheelchair-dependent athletes was predictable using the equation of the present study and the described incremental test.