1. Introduction
The consciousness of health of the spinal cord injuries is influenced by doing sports regularly, concerned in their needs hierarchial grades and the bases of their daily lives, and in addition to these, affected by their medical conditions of having or not bedsores and urinary tract infections.
The purpose of this study is to analize the changes of the ventilation function of the spinal cord injuries who are intimating with sports.
2. Methods
The subjects are seven male paraplegics due to spinal cord injury who have not bedsores nor urinary tract infections, and play wheelchair basketball more than two times per month.
In order to detect changes of their ventilation function, measurements were done in October 1980, 1981 and 1982, using autospirometer.
3. Results
(1) Forced vital capacity (FVC) and % vital capacity (%VC = FVC/predicted vital capacity) of the majority of the examined subjcets were normal.
(2) Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV
1), forced expiratory volume% in 1 second (FEV
1% = FEV
1/FVC) and % expiratory volume in 1 second (%EV
1 = FEV
1/predicted vital capacity) showed a tendency to improve year by year, and the condition of respiratory function of all the subjects was evaluated normal from the view point of %EV
1.
(3) Within the ventilatory impairments, the obstructive ventilatory impairment decreased every year, and the ventilation function of all the subjects showed a tendency towards normal.
(4) Health consciousness of the subjects was clearly related to health condition, measured by the pulmonary function test.
4. Conclusion
It seems that the condition of the spinal cord injuries from the view point of ventilatory function was influenced by continual practice and frequency of doing sports.
Therefore, the cardio-respiratoryfunction of the spinal cord injuries has a great influence on their health and health consciousness, as well as their needs hierarchial grades and the bases of their daily lives.
View full abstract