Esquí náutico recreativo en personas con paraplejia: a propósito de tres casos

Objectives: the cardiorespiratory fitness and the intensity of effort were analyzed during the recreational practice of slalom water skiing. Methodology: three moderately active water skiers with paraplegia participated. They performed an incremental test on an arm ergometer to determine their VO2peak and ventilatory thresholds and completed 3 sessions of water skiing, separated by 48h, where the HR was recorded every 5 s. Results: they obtained a VO2peak of 22.3 ± 0.6 mL·kg-1·min-1 and the ventilatory thresholds were analyzed at ~80 and ~50% of the VO2peak. The average heart rate in the water ski sessions was 111 bpm, which represented an intensity of ~45% of the heart rate reserve (HRR), remaining above 40% of the HRR ~12 min. Conclusion: the moderate intensity of recreational slalom skiing could serve to maintain or improve the cardiorespiratory fitness in these three people with paraplegia.