Background

As the focus of classification shifts towards an evidence-based approach, it is crucial to establish a robust system that relies on valid and reliable measures of impairment to ensure legitimate and competitive opportunities for all Para athletes. However, the lack of methods that possess the necessary measurement properties for assessing impairments in Para sporting populations presents significant challenges to developing an evidence-based classification system.

Objective

This review aimed to identify and evaluate measures of impairment and activity limitation measures that have been used to assess eligible impairments in Para sport athletes for potential use in evidence-based classification.

Methods

Six electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science) were searched from their earliest record to December 2023.

Results

Fifty-one articles were identified, with twenty-one studies focusing on physical impairment measures. Isometric and grip strength emerged as effective measures. Coordination measures, such as tapping tasks, showed variations with performance. Additionally, six studies focused on intellectual impairments, revealing differences between impaired and non-impaired athletes through generic cognitive tests. Vision impairment measures, including visual acuity and visual field assessments, displayed varying associations with performance across sports.

Conclusions

Although research on evidence-based classification in Para sport is limited, this review provides valuable insights for sports in developing a testing battery that adheres to evidence-based protocols. Ongoing research efforts by sport governing bodies to prioritise research in this area will improve our understanding of the impairment–performance relationship, leading to better decision making and increased credibility in Para sport classification systems.

中文翻译：

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指导残疾人运动人群的循证分类：损伤措施和活动限制的系统评价

 背景

随着分类的重点转向循证方法，建立一个强大的系统至关重要，该系统依赖于有效和可靠的损伤测量，以确保所有残疾人运动员获得合法和竞争的机会。然而，缺乏具有必要测量特性来评估残疾人运动人群损伤的方法，这给开发基于证据的分类系统带来了重大挑战。

 目的

本综述旨在确定和评估已用于评估残疾人运动运动员合格损伤的损伤指标和活动限制指标，以用于循证分类。

 方法

检索了 6 个电子数据库 （MEDLINE、Embase、SPORTDiscus、CINAHL、Scopus、Web of Science），检索时间从最早记录到 2023 年 12 月。

 结果

确定了 51 篇文章，其中 21 项研究侧重于身体损伤措施。等长和握力成为有效的衡量标准。协调措施，如敲击任务，随性能的变化而变化。此外，六项研究侧重于智力障碍，通过通用认知测试揭示了受损和非受损运动员之间的差异。视力障碍测量，包括视力和视野评估，与各种运动的表现显示出不同的关联。

 结论

尽管对残疾人运动中循证分类的研究有限，但本综述为开发符合循证方案的测试系统提供了有价值的见解。体育管理机构正在进行的研究工作将优先考虑该领域的研究，这将提高我们对损伤-表现关系的理解，从而做出更好的决策并提高残疾人运动分类系统的可信度。