Description and Goals
The Disability Performance Protocol will
begin by promoting the many health ad-
vantages that come from participating in a
weekly fitness regimen.
Session 1: In the first session we will be
conducting a physical assessment of the
client to determine their current level of
fitness. The functional assessment taken
will include trunk range of motion, wheel-
chair mobility, transfer mobility, and upper
and lower extremity involvement. This as-
sessment is a very important first step, as it
will facilitate the choice of exercise equip-
ment, protocols, and adaptations. We will
be using the voluntary arm ergometer ma-
chine in order to test cardio respiratory fit-
ness. There will not be any specific skills
tested during this session, we are simply
looking to test the individuals current level
of fitness at the beginning of the session.
At the end we will be using a sport-specific
indoor CRF assessment similar to a shuttle
run where the individual will wheel himself
up and back a basketball court for time. In
reference to the ACSM guidelines for exer-
cise prescription the strength training tests
for those in a wheelchair are not different
from the able bodied participants, with the
wheelchair bound athletes simply doing
seated lifts, instead of standing. An analysis
of the persons attitude toward the exercis-
es, as well as the persons fitness level will
be taken into consideration when develop-
ing the rest of the sessions, catering to the
individuals strengths and weaknesses, in
order to develop a all encompassing pro-
gram.
Session 2: Overuse injuries and injuries to
the upper extremities, especially to the
shoulder are very common with wheel-
chair basketball players. Due to the in-
creased risk of overuse injuries, we will in-
corporate exercises that stabilize the shoul-
der and correct the muscle imbalance that
can lead to decreased performance and
injury. We want to properly incorporate a
stretching routine to first increase the
range of motion within the joints and also
include a stabilization exercise regimen to
then help strengthen the muscles through-
out the shoulder.
Session 3: The arm ergometer is a staple
machine used to test and increase the car-
diac capacity and core strength of this
community. In fact, a study comparing the
work rate and heart rates of long distance
runners, wheelchair athletes, and a healthy
control group of able bodied subjects used
an arm ergometer for the test. The wheel-
chair athletes had the greatest reaction
displaying as high as 180 BPM with many
of the individuals reaching maximal effort.
While this result is not unexpected, the
fact that the arm ergometer allowed these
athletes to rev their heart up this high
shows that it is a great method of cardio-
vascular training.
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