Evaluating Deltoid Muscle Activation During Manual Wheelchair Propulsion in Parabadminton: Racket Effects and Intensity Levels

To compare the activation patterns of the shoulder muscles between 2 effort conditions, 8 participants without physical or motor impairment performed the Parabadminton-specific adapted shuttle run test in wheelchairs composed of 3 minutes moderately and intensely, under 2 counterbalanced conditions: with and without the racket. The electromyographic peak data of the anterior deltoid muscle (AD) and posterior deltoid muscle (PD) were collected and normalized by the maximum voluntary isometric contraction previously evaluated. The Wilcoxon test was used to compare conditions (P < .05). The AD showed lower activation during intense effort with the racket (153.76 vs 80.58; P < .05). It was observed that during effort with the racket, there was greater activation of the 2 portions of the deltoid during intense effort (AD: 50.36 vs 67.71; PD: 119.75 vs 148.09). Similarly, when analyzing the condition without a racket, greater activations for both portions of the deltoid muscle were observed for intense effort (AD: 46.70 vs 132.16; PD: 100.04 vs 191.51). It is observed that the use of rackets in Parabadminton in a wheelchair can decrease the pace of recruitment of muscle fibers of AD and PD.