Thermoregulatory responses in wheelchair tennis players: a pilot study

This was an observational study.

Spinal cord-injured (SCI) individuals are thermoregulatory compromised because of an inability to vasodilate and sweat below the injury, increasing the risk, proportional to the injury level, for marked core body temperature (CBT) rises. We compared thermoregulatory responses between wheelchair tennis players with and without a SCI.

British Open 2013, Nottingham, UK.

A total of 8 (3 SCI and 5 non-SCI) wheelchair tennis players played a 45-min match while we continuously measured CBT, 8-point skin temperature (Mean-Tsk) and exercise intensity (metabolic equivalent units (METs)). Thermal sensation and perceived exertion were measured before and after each set. Video-assisted logging of each serve, stroke and point duration was used to determine match intensity. No statistics were performed for CBT because of small sample sizes.

Wet Bulb Globe Temperature varied between 18 and 20 °C. CBT increased stronger in the SCI players (+0.6±0.1 °C; n=2) compared with the non-SCI players (+0.3±0.1 °C; n=4), whereas Mean-Tsk was similar between groups (P=0.29). No Tsk differences were observed above (>T6) or below (< or =T6) the lesion level. Thermal sensation, perceived exertion, exercise and match intensity were similar between groups (all P>0.05).

In this small, descriptive study, CBT increased slightly more in the SCI wheelchair tennis players compared with non-SCI players during a 45-min match in moderate environmental conditions. Further research to investigate whether SCI players are more prone to heat illness is warranted.