Cowan et al used the distance that a wheelchair-dependent person can go in 6 minutes as a measures of fitness. This is related to the 6 minute walk test (6MWT) in ambulatory patients. The authors are from the University of Miami in Florida.
Patient selection: spinal cord injury and wheelchair dependent
Performance: distance traveled in meters within 6 minutes with maximum effort
Factors affecting reliability:
(1) The number of determinations performed.
(2) The accuracy of the timing.
(3) The accuracy of the distance traveled.
(4) The nature of the course (flat without need for turns).
(5) The effort applied by the individual.
Parameters:
(1) nature of spinal cord injury - paraplegia vs tetraplegia
(2) distance in meters
Spinal Cord Injury
Distance Traveled
Fitness
tetraplegia
<= 445 meters
low
tetraplegia
> 445 meters
high
paraplegia
<= 604 meters
low
paraplegia
> 604 meters
high
where:
• The study was dichotomous for low and high levels of fitness.
• In Figure 3 there is overlap for paraplegics between upper range for low fitness and lower range of high fitness.
The test can serve as a maximal test of aerobic capacity in a person with an injury aboveT10.
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