A high-intensity warm-up increases thermal strain but does not affect repeated sprint performance in athletes with a cervical spinal cord injury

Purpose: To compare the effects of typical competition versus high-intensity intermittent warm-up (WU) on thermoregulatory responses and repeated sprint performance during wheelchair rugby (WR) gameplay. Methods: An intermittent sprint protocol (ISP) simulating the demands of WR was performed by male WR players (7 with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) and 8 without SCI (NON-SCI)) following two WU protocols. These included a typical competition WU (CON) and a WU consisting of high-intensity efforts (INT). Core temperature (Tcore), thermal sensation and thermal comfort were recorded. Wheelchair performance variables associated to power, speed, and fatigue were also calculated. Results: During the WU, Tcore was similar between conditions for both groups. During the ISP, a higher Tcore was found for SCI compared with NON-SCI (38.1±0.3 vs 37.7±0.3℃: p=0.036, d=0.75), and the SCI group experienced a higher peak Tcore for INT compared with CON (39.0±0.4 vs 38.6±0.6; p=0.004). Peak Tcore occurred later in the ISP for players with SCI (96±5.8 vs 48±2.7 min; p<0.001). All players reported a higher thermal sensation and thermal comfort following INT (p