Aerobic Capacity of Persons’ With Spinal Cord Injuries in the Aspect of Disability and Gender

Physical capacity of people with spinal cord injuries is reduced due to the loss of motor function and due to sympathetic innervations below the location of injury. The degree of the loss of functions depends on the level and depth of the injury. The more paralysed muscle groups there are, the lower the physical capacity and lower possibility to carry out physical exercise at the substantially high metabolic rate, in order to stimulate the heart and lung system and to reach an adequate level of aerobic capacity. It was ascertained that according to relative working power, people with lower level (minimal) spinal cord injuries have better aerobic stamina than those who experienced higher level spinal cord injuries (injuries Th8–L1). Aerobic stamina of women with higher level spinal cord injuries (injuries Th1-Th7) who are active in sports is better than that of women with lower level spinal cord injuries (injuries Th8-L1) and minimal injuries who do not exercise. The statistically reliable difference in the data of aerobic capacity between the groups (p < 0.05) was found