Research summary · Para sport
Wheelchair sprint times relate to phase-specific propulsion mechanics
Fifty-five collegiate wheelchair basketball athletes completed repeated 20-m and change-of-direction sprints while inertial sensors recorded movement. Analyses examined mechanics during the first, third and fifth propulsion pushes alongside playing experience and functional classification.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Cross-sectional biomechanical study
- Journal
- Journal of Applied Biomechanics
- Population / context
- Collegiate wheelchair basketball · Sprinting and direction changes
What the publication reports
First-push trunk displacement, fifth-push right-side push length and collegiate experience jointly explained over 40% of straight-sprint time variation. Nonpivot shoulder displacement during the third push was the strongest change-of-direction predictor. Functional classification was not associated with sprint outcomes in this sample.
Limits and interpretation
These are associations, not evidence that deliberately changing a movement will improve speed. Collegiate sampling and task-specific measurements limit generalization; the study did not test training adaptations, injury risk or classification fairness.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Propulsion Kinematics Matter: Improving Sprint Performance in Collegiate Wheelchair Basketball Athletes
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42716505DOI: 10.1123/jab.2025-0318Reader discussion
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