Improving recovery in wheelchair basketball players

This study will be conducted by a University of Waikato student as part of their Masters degree requirements. It will take place at the usual training venue of the Waikato wheelchair basketball team. This study is hoping to show whether a recovery method used by many elite athletes is helpful to wheelchair athletes. The pneumatic compression device works like a massage. The device is worn on your arms and different parts within the sleeves inflate and deflate continuously, in a similar way to a blood pressure cuff. The main goal of this study is to see if this device can help with recovery when athletes are required to complete multiple trainings session during the day. With a partner, each participant will be required to take part in a series of performance tests (listed below) specific to the demands of wheelchair basketball, as well as a high intensity training session. The aim of this session is to cause fatigue. A second round of performance tests will take place, followed by a recovery session, where one member of each pair will wear the compression arms while the other does not. The performance tests will then be repeated. This process will be repeated a week later, however the roles during the recovery section will be reversed so that both partners will have used the compression device. Each session will take approximately two and half hours, so total commitment time will be about five hours. Performance tests include: - Maximal medicine ball chest pass – the aim is to throw the medicine ball as far as possible. - Repeated wheelchair sprints – a series of sprints with a short rest in between them. - Hand grip strength – assesses grip strength by measuring how hard a person can squeeze. - Blood lactate concentration – this requires a finger prick test. Only a couple of drops of blood are needed. All samples will be disposed of after each session. - Muscle soreness algometer – the probe measures the pressure inside the muscle and how sensitive a person is to that muscle pressure. The high intensity training session will include: Warm up - 5 x easy laps around court, gradually increasing speed + 3 x half court tows with a partner. - Dynamic stretching (arm swings, thoracic rotations.) High Intensity - 6 x court sprints (wheel back to start) - 6 x 30 second (with 10-15 second breaks) Figure 8s (wheeling round cones in figure 8 direction) - 6 x court sprints with shot at hoop (wheel back to start) Cool down - 3 x easy laps, gradually slowing down. This participants in this study will remain anonymous. No details will be included that may enable the identification of the participants. The device will be worn for 60 minutes during the recovery period only. Participants not using the device will be able to sit and relax. The device will not be worn during the performance tests. The device has an inflation time of 26 seconds and a deflation time of 15 seconds. This will continue throughout the 60 minute period. It will be set to a pressure of 80 mm Hg. The intervention will be administer by myself (lead investigator), a Masters student with experience working with individuals with physical disabilities. My university supervisor will also be present. He is currently a lecturer at the University of Waikato but has extensive experience as a sports physiologist, working with elite athletes. The overall timeline of the study procedure is as follows: Performance test 1 (15-20 mins) High intensity session (20 mins) Performance tests (15-20 mins) Recovery intervention (60 mins) Performance tests (15-20 mins) target intensity will be 12-14 RPE