Thermoregulatory Responses during Competitive Wheelchair Rugby Match Play

Katy E Griggs; George Havenith; Michael J. Price; Barry S. Mason; Victoria L. Goosey-Tolfrey

doi:10.1055/s-0042-121263

International Journal of Sports Medicine, Table of Contents

Int J Sports Med 2017; 38(03): 177-183
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-121263

Physiology & Biochemistry

Thermoregulatory Responses during Competitive Wheelchair Rugby Match Play

Katy E Griggs

¹Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport, School of Sport and Exercise Health Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

,

George Havenith

²Environmental Ergonomics Research Centre, Design School, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

,

Michael J. Price

³Department of Biomolecular and Sports Science, Coventry University, Coventry, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

,

Barry S. Mason

¹Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport, School of Sport and Exercise Health Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

,

Victoria L. Goosey-Tolfrey

¹Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport, School of Sport and Exercise Health Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a player’s physical impairment or activity profile was related to the amount of thermal strain experienced during wheelchair rugby match play. 17 elite wheelchair rugby players played a competitive match, whilst activity profiles, measures of core and skin temperature, heart rate and perceptual responses were taken. Players were divided into 2 groups depending on their physical impairment: players with a cervical spinal cord injury, (n=10) or non-spinal related physical impairment (n=7). Total distance was lower (4 842±324 vs. 5 541±316 m, p<0.01, ES=2.2) and mean speed slower (1.13±0.11 vs. 1.27±0.11 m∙s⁻¹, p<0.03, ES=1.3) in players with a spinal cord injury. Yet, the change in core temperature (1.6±0.4 vs. 0.7±0.3°C, p<0.01, ES=2.5) was significantly greater in players with a spinal cord injury. In conclusion, players with a spinal cord injury were under greater thermal strain during wheelchair rugby match play, as a result of their reduced heat loss capacity, due to their physical impairment and not because of their activity profile.

Key words

thermoregulation - spinal cord injury - tetraplegia - Paralympic sport

Full Text

References

References
1 Attia M, Engel P. Thermoregulatory set point in patients with spinal cord injuries (spinal man). Paraplegia 1983; 21: 233-248
2 Batterham AM, Hopkins WG. Making meaningful inferences about magnitudes. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2006; 1: 50-57
3 Borg G. Perceived exertion as an indicator of somatic stress. Scand J Rehabil Med 1970; 2: 92-98
4 Byrne C, Lim CL. The ingestible telemetric body core temperature sensor: a review of validity and exercise applications. Br J Sports Med 2007; 41: 126-133
5 Cramer MN, Jay O. Explained variance in the thermoregulatory responses to exercise: the independent roles of biophysical and fitness/fatness-related factors. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2015; 119: 982-989
6 Dubois D, Dubois EF. A formula to estimate surface area if height and weight are known. Arch Intern Med 1916; 17: 863
7 Ely BR, Ely MR, Cheuvront SN, Kenefick RW, Degroot DW, Montain SJ. Evidence against a 40 degrees C core temperature threshold for fatigue in humans. J Appl Physiol 2009; 107: 1519-1525
8 Freund PR, Brengelmann GL, Rowell LB, Halar E. Attenuated skin blood flow response to hyperthermia in paraplegic men. J Appl Physiol 1984; 56: 1104-1109
9 Gass EM, Gass GC, Gwinn TH. Sweat rate and rectal and skin temperatures in tetraplegic men during exercise. Sports Med Train Rehabil 1992; 3: 243-249
10 Gerrett N, Ouzzahra Y, Coleby S, Hobbs S, Redortier B, Voelcker T, Havenith G. Thermal sensitivity to warmth during rest and exercise: a sex comparison. Eur J Appl Physiol 2014; 114: 1451-1462
11 Girard O. Thermoregulation in wheelchair tennis – How to manage heat stress?. Front Physiol 2015; 6: 175
12 Goosey-Tolfrey V, Keil M, Brooke-Wavell K, de Groot S. A comparison of methods for the estimation of body composition in highly trained wheelchair games players. Int J Sports Med 2016; 37: 799-806
13 Griggs KE, Leicht CA, Price MJ, Goosey-Tolfrey VL. Thermoregulation during intermittent exercise in athletes with a spinal-cord injury. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2015; 10: 469-475
14 Guttmann L, Silver J, Wyndham CH. Thermoregulation in spinal man. J Physiol 1958; 142: 406-419
15 Harriss DJ, Atkinson G. Ethical standards in sport and exercise science research: 2016 update. Int J Sports Med 2015; 36: 1121-1124
16 Havenith G, Fiala D. Thermal indices and thermophysiological modeling for heat stress. Compr Physiol 2015; 6: 255-302
17 Hopman MT. Circulatory responses during arm exercise in individuals with paraplegia. Int J Sports Med 1994; 15: 126-131
18 International Wheelchair Rugby Federation. International Rules for the Sport of Wheelchair Rugby June, 2015. Available from: http://www.iwrf.com/resources/iwrf_docs/Wheelchair_Rugby_International_ Rules_2015_English.pdf
19 Keil M, Totosy dZ, Brooke-Wavell K, Goosey-Tolfrey V. Measurement precision of body composition variables in elite wheelchair athletes, using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Eur J Sport Sci 2016; 16: 65-71
20 Leicht CA, Griggs KE, Lavin J, Tolfrey K, Goosey-Tolfrey VL. Blood lactate and ventilatory thresholds in wheelchair athletes with tetraplegia and paraplegia. Eur J Appl Physiol 2014; 114: 1635-1643
21 Mitchell D. Convective heat transfer from man and other animals. In: Monteith JL, Mount LE. (eds.). Heat Loss from Animals and Man. London: Butterworth; 1974: 59-76
22 Molik B, Lubelska E, Koxmol A, Bogdan M, Yilla AB, Hyla E. An examination of the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation classification system utilizing parameters of offensive game efficiency. Adapt Phys Activ Q 2008; 25: 335-351
23 Morgulec-Adamowicz N, Kosmol A, Bogdan M, Molik B, Rutkowska I, Bednarczuk G. Game efficiency of wheelchair rugby athletes at the 2008 Paralympic Games with regard to player classification. Human Movement 2010; 11: 29-36
24 Normell LA. Distribution of impaired cutaneous vasomotor and sudomotor function in paraplegic man. Scand J Clin Lab Invest Suppl 1974; 138: 25-41
25 Ouzzahra Y, Havenith G, Redortier B. Regional distribution of thermal sensitivity to cold at rest and during mild exercise in males. J Therm Biol 2012; 37: 517-523
26 Perrat B, Smith MJ, Mason BS, Rhodes JM, Goosey-Tolfrey VL. Quality assessment of an ultra-wide band positioning system for indoor wheelchair court sports. J Sports Eng Technol 2015; 229: 81-91
27 Price MJ. Thermoregulation during exercise in individuals with spinal cord injuries. Sports Med 2006; 36: 863-879
28 Price MJ, Campbell IG. Effects of spinal cord lesion level upon thermoregulation during exercise in the heat. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2003; 35: 1100-1107
29 Price MJ, Campbell IG. Thermoregulatory responses of paraplegic and able-bodied athletes at rest and during prolonged upper body exercise and passive recovery. Eur J Appl Physiol 1997; 76: 552-560
30 Price MJ, Campbell IG. Thermoregulatory responses of spinal cord injured and able-bodied athletes to prolonged upper body exercise and recovery. Spinal Cord 1999; 37: 772-779
31 Ramanathan NL. A new weighting system for mean surface temperature of the human body. J Appl Physiol 1964; 19: 531-533
32 Rhodes JM, Mason BS, Perrat B, Smith MJ, Malone LA, Goosey-Tolfrey VL. Activity profiles of elite wheelchair rugby players during competition. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2015; 10: 318-324
33 Sarro KJ, Misuta MS, Burkett B, Malone LA, Barros RML. Tracking of wheelchair rugby players in the 2008 Demolition Derby final. J Sports Sci 2010; 28: 193-200
34 Schlader ZJ, Simmons SE, Stannard SR, Muendel T. Skin temperature as a thermal controller of exercise intensity. Eur J Appl Physiol 2011; 111: 1631-1639
35 Sporner ML, Grindle GG, Kelleher A, Teodorski EE, Cooper R, Cooper RA. Quantification of activity during wheelchair basketball and rugby at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games: a pilot study. Prosthet Orthot Int 2009; 33: 210-217
36 Toner MM, Drolet LL, Pandolf KB. Perceptual and physiological responses during exercise in cool and cold water. Percept Mot Skills 1986; 62: 211-220
37 Webb P. The physiology of heat regulation. Am J Physiol 1995; 268: R838-R850
38 Winget CM, DeRoshia CW, Holley DC. Circadian rhythms and athletic performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1985; 17: 498-516