Article

OBJECTIVE: To examine wheelchair athletes' perceptions of wheelchair
configuration in relation to aspects of mobility performance. METHODS: Nine elite
wheelchair athletes from wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair
tennis were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Interview transcripts
were analysed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, whereby emergent
themes with common connections were identified and clustered into 3 superordinate
themes: (i) performance indicators; (ii) principal areas of wheelchair
configuration; and (iii) supplementary areas of wheelchair configuration.
RESULTS: Participants revealed that stability was the most important contributor
towards successful performance. Whilst there was some agreement amongst
participants on how manipulating most areas of wheelchair configuration
influenced performance, opinions were divided as to whether camber had a positive
or negative effect on straight line performance. CONCLUSION: Experienced athletes
seemed to display a good understanding of how modifying wheelchair configurations
can affect sports performance, yet the methods offered for identifying optimal
settings were extremely subjective. Therefore, future quantitative research into
specific areas of configuration is imperative to identify these optimums and to inform athletes about the decisions they make when configuring a new sports
wheelchair.

Langue : ANGLAIS