Case Report: Monitoring Neuromuscular Fatigue Through Jump Performance Over Two Seasons in a Cerebral Palsy Sprinter

Diego Antunes ^1* Eduardo Marcel Fernandes ¹ Mateus Rossato ² Edson Soares Da Silva ³ Ricardo Dantas De Lucas ¹ Gabriela Fischer ¹

• ¹ Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil
• ² Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
• ³ Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Étienne, Rhône-Alpes, France

Introduction: World Para Athletics classifies athletes with brain injury, cerebral palsy, and motor coordination impairments into Group Class 31 to 38. Para athletes who can run and jump but are affected by impairments such as athetosis, ataxia, and dystonia, impacting all four limbs and the trunk, are categorized as Class T36. Monitoring training load and performance is essential for guiding training and preventing injuries in this population. Vertical jumps are commonly used to assess neuromuscular parameters in athletes with cerebral palsy. This study tracked performance changes and monitored vertical jump height and power over two competitive seasons in a sprinter with cerebral palsy.Case Presentation/Methods: The sprinter, classified as T36, has had cerebral palsy since birth. Over two seasons, his neuromuscular performance was monitored weekly using Countermovement and Squat Jumps. His running performance was assessed through competition results. Parameters measured included Jump height and Peak power (WPEAK), calculated as the highest value from the force-velocity curve, normalized by body mass. Official race times for 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m events were recorded from January 2017 to October 2018.Results: Absolute and relative sprint performance improved significantly between the first and best official results: 100 m (15.05 s to 13.97 s = -7.1%), 200 m (31.30 s to 29.05 s = -7.1%), and 400 m (71.60 s to 66.24 s = -7.4%). The correlation between vertical jump parameters and sprint performance was large to very large for the 100m and 200m events (r = 0.55 - 0.87).Discussion: The Para athlete improved performance over two seasons without injuries. These findings suggest that monitoring jump performance is a valuable method for tracking training loads and predicting sprint performance. Further longitudinal studies are needed to investigate vertical jumps as a tool for coaches to monitor training and performance in CP athletes across classifications and events.