Effect of wheelchair basketball on HDL-cholesterol of paraplegics

Abstract

Introduction: Spinal cord injury individuals usually have a sedentary lifestyle, contributing to lower levels of HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C). Regular exercise improves lipid profile, but less is known about how to prescribe exercise for spinal cord injury individuals for this purpose. Objective: Investigate the effect of wheelchair basketball on lipid profile into spinal cord injury individuals. Methods: Nine individuals were assigned to wheelchair basketball training, three times a week, through 14 weeks. The lipid profile was analyzed before and after the training Results: The training resulted in significant (p 0.05) increases of 24.6% in HDL-C (HDL cholesterol) levels and decreases of 11.4% and 12.4% in the TC (total cholesterol) /HDL-C and LDL-C (LDL cholesterol) /HDL-C, respectively, compared to control group (n=12). Conclusions: Wheelchair basketball has promoted positive changes on HDL-C cholesterol and it can be a non-pharmacological strategy to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease in this population.