Over a 17-week periodised training program, daily heart rate variability remained stable in three elite Paralympic swimmers, but differed significantly between neuromuscular and amputee disability types.
Case Report (n=3)
No
Does daily heart rate variability monitoring reveal differences in cardiac autonomic variations across training phases and disability types in elite Paralympic swimmers?
Daily HRV monitoring in elite Paralympic swimmers reveals that cardiac autonomic profiles differ significantly based on disability type, highlighting the need for individualized training management.
Heart rate variability (HRV) can be a simple, non-invasive method of gauging cardiac autonomic nervous system fluctuations across periodised training workloads and taper in elite athlete populations. The purpose of these three case studies was to examine daily cardiac autonomic variations in Paralympic athletes leading in to the Paralympic games. Three Paralympic gold medallist swimmers were monitored daily for their resting HRV over a 17-week monitoring period leading up to the Paralympic games. Specific time- and frequency-domain measures, along with non-linear indices of HRV were calculated for all analyses. All HRV data were analysed individually using daily values, weekly average values, and average values for rest and training phases. A significant difference in HRV was seen for all variables between athlete 1 and athletes 2 and 3 (amputee disabilities) during the entire monitoring period. Despite minimal long-term changes, both swimming classification and disability type significantly influence HRV during athlete monitoring. An increased understanding of individual responses to training, travel, and other outside influences affecting Paralympic athletes could potentially lead to improved management and monitoring of training workloads for enhanced performance.
Edmonds et al. (Sat,) conducted a case report in Paralympic swimmers (n=3). Periodised training program was evaluated on Daily heart rate variability (HRV). Over a 17-week periodised training program, daily heart rate variability remained stable in three elite Paralympic swimmers, but differed significantly between neuromuscular and amputee disability types.