Peak oxygen uptake in sportsmen with spinal cord injury: importance of body composition

Peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) is a key indicator of aerobic fitness and functional capacity, particularly vital for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) due to its link with cardiovascular risk and quality of life. Interpreting cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) results in SCI individuals is challenging because VO2peak is typically normalized by body weight, but SCI significantly alters body composition, leading to potential misinterpretations. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) helps determine body composition by estimating body water, fat-free mass (FFM), and body active cellular mass (BCM), offering a more accurate assessment in sportsmen with SCI.

• 1
  Sportsmen with SCI had significantly lower mean VO2peak, weight-normalized VO2peak, fat-free mass (FFM)-normalized VO2peak, and body cellular mass (BCM)-normalized values compared to able-bodied controls.
• 2
  At the same heart rate (55% of maximal theoretical), absolute VO2, weight-normalized VO2, and FFM-normalized VO2 were significantly lower in the SCI group.
• 3
  When considering BCM-normalized VO2, the SCI group showed greater values than controls, indicating the importance of BCM in assessing functional capacity in this population.