• Yagesh Bhambhani, Jennifer Mactavish, Sharon Warren, Walter R Thompson, Anthony Webborn, Elizabeth Bressan, Marco Tuilo De Mello, Sean Tweedy, Laurie Malone, Kennet Frojd, Peter Van De Vliet, and Yves Vanlandewijck.
• Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Canada. yagesh.bhambhani@ualberta.ca
• Disabil Rehabil. 2010 Jan 1;32(26):2172-90.

UnlabelledAutonomic dysreflexia (AD) is unique to individuals with spinal injuries (SCI) at T6 or above and can be voluntarily induced. Although AD improves wheelchair racing performance in some athletes, it also elicits exaggerated blood pressure, which could be dangerous. The International Paralympic Committee considers AD doping and banned its use.PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate AD knowledge, incidence and attitudes (KIA) of Paralympians with SCI.MethodsAn existing questionnaire was modified to include questions of AD KIA, validated by three experts and piloted with a small sample. It was administered on-line, mailed to members of a scientific network and distributed during the Beijing Paralympic Games. Fisher Exact test was used to evaluate differences across gender, injury and education.ResultsOf 99 participants, 54.5% had previously heard of AD while 39.4% were unaware; 16.7%, all males, had used AD to enhance performance. Participants reported that AD was (1) useful for middle (78.6%) and long distance (71.4%), marathon (64.3%) and wheelchair rugby (64.3%); (2) somewhat dangerous (48.9%), dangerous (21.3%) or very dangerous (25.5%) to health. Results were not influenced by age, injury level or injury duration.ConclusionsFindings indicate the need for educational programmes directed towards enhancing the AD knowledge of rehabilitation professionals, coaches and trainers working with SCI individuals.

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