Reliability of anaerobic and aerobic mobility performance tests used in wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis: a systematic review

Background: Understanding the reliability and validity of field-based mobility and performance tests used within the wheelchair sports of basketball (WCB), rugby (WCR) and tennis (WCT) can assist in understanding an athletes’ physiological state, training effects, and/or assist with optimising their wheel-chair-user interface.

Purpose: To examine, evaluate and synthesize current aerobic and anaerobic field-based mobility and performance tests used in WCB, WCR and WCT.

Methods: A systematic search was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. Studies were included if they investigated performance tests in WCB, WCR and WCT and reported reliability.

Results: Twenty-one studies covering 45 mobility/performance tests were included (anaerobic, n = 35; aerobic, n = 10), with agility and repeated sprints (n = 13) being the most common, followed by linear- sprints (n = 11). Repeated sprint ability (n = 2) and submaximal field-tests (n = 2) were the least frequent. Intra-class correlations among all tests ranged from 0.62 to 0.99, with agility and repeated sprints being 0.65–0.98, followed by values of 0.62–0.99 for linear-sprint, 0.96–0.99 for repeated sprints and 0.85–0.97 for submaximal field-tests.

Conclusion: The most frequently measured performance tests were anaerobic tests focusing on agility and repeated sprints. Given the low number of aerobic tests in WCB, WCR and WCT, future research should focus on reliable and valid ways to measure and track performance.