Abstract
Study design
Single-group pre-test post-test study.
Objectives
Examine the change in (1) fitness and body composition due to self-guided training in preparation for the HandbikeBattle in people with spinal cord injury (SCI); and (2) whether these possible body composition changes are associated with changes in fitness.
Setting
Handcycling teams of Dutch rehabilitation centers training for the HandbikeBattle, a handcycling race on an Austrian mountain.
Methods
Fitness (peak power output (POpeak) determined during a graded handcycling exercise test) and body composition (body mass, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), %fat determined with skinfolds and fat and fat free mass (% and kg) assessed by bio-impedance analysis (BIA)) of 18 persons with SCI were evaluated before and after 4 months of training for the HandbikeBattle. The effects of training were evaluated with repeated measures ANOVA. Associations among changes in POpeak and changes in body composition were calculated with Pearson correlation coefficients.
Results
Training for the HandbikeBattle led to significant improvements in POpeak, fat mass measured by BIA (19.6 ± 9.6 kg to 18.5 ± 8.3 kg, p = 0.02), %fat measured by skinfolds (28.4 ± 7.8% to 27.2 ± 7.2%, p = 0.02), while body mass and WC approached significance (p = 0.06). Association among changes in body composition and changes in POpeak ranged from trivial (e.g., for %fat BIA r = −0.023) to moderate (e.g., for WC, r = −0.32).
Conclusions
Self-guided training for the HandbikeBattle led to a large increase in fitness but had a small effect on body composition, e.g., nutrition may play a more important role than exercise.
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Acknowledgements
The assistance of Suzanne de Groot during part of the data collection is greatly appreciated.
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Statement of ethics
The study was approved by the Local Ethical Committee of the Center for Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands. All participants voluntary signed an informed consent form after they were given information about the testing procedures. The study was registered in the Dutch Trial Register (www.trialregister.nl, NTR6586).
HandbikeBattle group name
HandbikeBattle group name
Bram van Gemeren, Rehabilitation center Het Roessingh, Enschede, The Netherlands
Mark van de Mijll Dekker, Rehabilitation center Heliomare, Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands
Karin Postma, Rehabilitation Center Rijndam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Linda van Vliet, Reade center for rehabilitation & rheumatology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Misha Metsaars, Libra Rehabilitation & Audiology, location Blixembosch, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Eric Helmantel, University Medical Center Groningen, Location Beatrixoord, Haren, The Netherlands
Lise Wilders, Sint Maartenskliniek, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Maremka Zwinkels, Rehabilitation center De Hoogstraat, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Paul Grandjean, Rehabilitation center Adelante, Hoensbroek, The Netherlands
Selma Overbeek, Rehabilitation center Tolbrug, Den Bosch, The Netherlands
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de Groot, S., Kouwijzer, I., Baauw, M. et al. Effect of self-guided training for the HandbikeBattle on body composition in people with spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord Ser Cases 4, 79 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41394-018-0103-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41394-018-0103-6
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