Muscle damage occurring in wheelchair sports people.

Seven college-age healthy men exercised on a wheelchair treadmill to evaluate muscle damage that may occur from wheelchair propulsion. An experimental model in which a participant performs up-hill running in a wheelchair was prepared. Plasma creatinekinase (CK), myoglobin (Mb) and lactatedehydrogenase (LDH) were measured as parameters. Blood samples were taken pre-, immediately after-, 24 h after- and 72 h after the exercise. All of these parameters significantly increased after the exercise, but their time-courses were apparently varied. It is concluded that wheelchair propulsion causes muscle damage in certain situations such as up-hill running.