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Athlete Development & Sports Rehabilitation

Clinical Practice

Lifestyle Medicine

Spinal Cord Injury

Session: The 6-minute push test: construct validity and responsiveness of a simple test to assess fitness status in persons with spinal cord injury

The 6-minute Push Test: Construct Validity and Responsiveness of a Simple Test to Assess Fitness Status in Persons with Spinal Cord Injury

Saturday, November 2, 2024
11:45 AM – 12:00 PM  
Location: Station 2: ROOM: POSTERLAND / Trinity Poster / Exhibit Hall REGION: Tower Lobby Level >>>

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Rachel E. Cowan, PhD

    Associate Professor
    University of Alabama at Birmingham
    Birmingham, Alabama, United States

    • Non-presenting Author(s)

  • IK

    Ingrid Kouwijzer

    Dr.
    Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
    Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

  • WS

    Wilbert Snoek

    Physiotherapist
    Revant Rehabilitation Center Breda
    Breda, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands

  • EM

    Ellen Maas

    Physiatrist
    Roessingh Rehabilitation Center
    Enschede, Overijssel, Netherlands

  • Sd

    Sonja de Groot

    Senior researcher
    Centre of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine, UMC Utrecht Brain Centre, University Medical Centre Utrecht, and De Hoogstraat Rehabilitation, Utrecht, The Netherlands;
    Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands

Research Objectives: Among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), explore 1) association between field and criterion fitness tests before and after 5 months of community sponsored handbike training, 2) if the field fitness test is responsive to training, 3) association between change in field fitness test and criterion fitness test.

Design: Longitudinal observational. Assessment before (T1) and after (T2) a community sponsored five month handbike training program.

Setting: N=11 Rehabilitation Centers in the Netherlands.

Participants: N=47 non-ambulatory person with SCI (age 43±15 years, 87% men, weight 78.7±15.5kg, BMI 24.4±4.3kg/m2, injury duration 10±13 years, 83% paraplegia).

Interventions: Not Applicable

Main Outcome Measures: At T1 and T2, Field test: 6 minute push test (6MPT (meters); Criterion test: Graded arm crank exercise test (peak oxygen uptake (POpeak (W/kg)), peak power output (VO2peak (ml/kg/min))).

Results: At T1 and T2, 6MPT distance was associated with POpeak (Pearson correlation; T1: r=0.73, p< 0.001, N=43; T2: r=0.81, p< 0.01, N=29) and VO2peak (T1: r=0.65, p< 0.001, N=37; T2: r=0.79, p< 0.01, N=29). 6MPT distance significantly increased from T1 to T2 (paired t-test, mean±SD, T1: 553±109, T2: 585±113, p< 0.001, N=27), with a 1.22 standardized response mean (SRM). 6MPT change was associated with POpeak change (Pearson correlation r=0.52, p=0.01, N=26) but not VO2peak change (r=0.38, p=0.08, N=24) change.

Conclusions: 6MPT field test was moderately to strongly related to both criterion test measures at both assessments, was responsive to training, and had a large (>0.80) SRM. Field test changes were moderately associated with only criterion POpeak changes. The 6MPT is a good proxy of cross-sectional fitness, and is responsive to training, but may have less utility as a proxy of fitness changes.

Author(s) Disclosures: Funded by CDMRP award number W81XWH2110813