Anaerobic performance among children with spina bifida

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Rehabilitation
• Sports Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Children and adolescents with spina bifida exhibit reduced physical activity levels, often relying on wheelchairs.
• Assessing anaerobic performance is vital for daily activities like transfers, which demand short, high-intensity movements.
• Understanding anaerobic capacity is crucial for this population's functional independence and overall fitness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the anaerobic performance of children and adolescents with spina bifida.
• To compare their performance against normative data from able-bodied individuals.
• To identify practical, field-based tests for assessing anaerobic capacity in non-laboratory environments.

Main Methods:

• Ninety-five participants with spina bifida were categorized by age and gender.
• They underwent the 30-second Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT), handgrip, and chest pass tests.
• Statistical analyses included Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, Pearson correlation, and Effect Size calculations.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in anaerobic performance metrics (peak power, mean power) were observed across age groups.
• Strong correlations were found between the 30-second WAnT results and both the handgrip and chest pass tests.
• These findings indicate a relationship between different measures of anaerobic capacity.

Conclusions:

• Children with spina bifida demonstrate significantly lower anaerobic performance compared to their able-bodied counterparts.
• Performance varies notably with age within this population.
• The chest pass test emerges as a promising, accessible tool for indirectly assessing anaerobic performance in field settings.