Effect of Wheelchair Running on Recovery of Blood Lactate and Physical Performance after High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise – An Experimental Trial

Background and Purpose: Repetitive sprint sport players perform high intensity exercise only for a small percentage of a total game and such periods are often instrumental in determining the eventual outcome. Recovery is a key factor for performance, and constant lack of recovery or insufficient recovery turns into overtraining which is detrimental in achieving peak performance. The purpose was to find out the effect of wheelchair running on the physical performance recovery after high-intensity intermittent exercise. Method: Ten sportsmen having the age range from 20 to 29, VO2max Ranges from 60.51 to 64.29 were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. After filling pre-participation questionnaire and 30-min of supine rest, Blood lactate and the field tests for the measurement of static balance, power, speed and agility were applied. The subjects were made to run in the treadmill and to increase the intensity to reach the Target Heart Rate (THR). After 1-min the subjects were given rest for 15-s and after that they started exercise again and thus the subjects completed several bouts of such exercises until exhaustion followed by either Passive rest or wheelchair running for the duration of 10 minutes. Parameters were measures after completed the exercise bout and after the recovery. Results: After the recovery in experimental group significant improvement found only in blood lactate (p<0.01) and no significant changes found in other parameters while in control group no significant changes found in all parameters. There was no significant difference found in all the parameters including blood lactate between the groups. Conclusion: Both wheelchair running and passive recovery are same in the efficiency of blood lactate removal and restoration of physical performance following intense intermittent exercise.