Wheelchair Rugby Improves Thoracoabdominal Mobility in People with Tetraplegia after One Year of Training

This study investigated the effects of one year of regular wheelchair rugby training on thoracoabdominal mobility of subjects with tetraplegia. Seven male subjects, tetraplegic level C5-C7 were analyzed before and after a year of training in wheelchair rugby the three-dimensional kinematic analysis of thoracoabdominal mobility of four regions: superior thorax (ST), inferior thorax (IT),superior abdomen (SA) and inferior abdomen (IA). Kinematic analysis showed a significant increase of 31.4% (p = 0.004) in the thoracoabdominal mobility of the superior thorax, after the training period, and there were no significant differences in other compartments analyzed. Therefore, the one year training of wheelchair rugby had a positive impact on mobility of the superior torax in individuals with tetraplegia, and allows the identification of ST as thoracoabdominal region that contributed most to the increase in lung volume in population.