Dynamics of wheelchair basketball

Abstract

A sport model wheelchair instrumented with a portable computer and a switch activated with each half revolution of a rear wheel was used to record serial time and distance data on two subjects (1 male, 1 female) during a portion of a basketball game. These and two additional subjects (1 male, 1 female) also completed a series of coast down and maximal sprint trials on the basketball court. The drag force while coasting was positively related to the mass of the subject, and the male subjects had a higher maximal speed, acceleration, force, and power output in the sprint trials. During the wheelchair basketball game, it was estimated that 64% of the time was spent in propulsive action and 36% in braking activity. Projections for a complete 40 minute game indicated that both subjects would travel about 5 km at an average speed of 2 m.s-1 and attain a peak speed of 4 m.s-1. Plots of speed and power vs time showed the intermittent nature of playing wheelchair basketball. The greater amount of propulsive work (52.6 vs 37.5 kJ) and braking ("negative") work (43.9 vs 30.8 kJ) in a game for the male subject can be related to the male's higher body mass and wheelchair drag force.