Ergogenic Effects of Caffeine Consumption in a 3-min All-Out Arm Crank Test in Paraplegic and Tetraplegic Compared With Able-Bodied Individuals.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to investigate the effect of caffeine supplementation on 3-minute all-out arm crank exercise performance in paraplegic, tetraplegic, and able-bodied participants.
Results Summary
Caffeine significantly increased average power in paraplegic participants but showed no ergogenic effect in tetraplegic participants. Peak power increased in able-bodied and paraplegic participants, though not significantly, while plasma caffeine levels rose in all groups.
Population
34 healthy, trained participants (17 able-bodied, 10 paraplegic, 7 tetraplegic).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Single-dose intervention (two 3-minute tests)
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
caffeine supplementation | increase | average power over the first 30 s | paraplegic participants | - | significantly increased | #1 |
caffeine supplementation | increase | average power over the first 60 s | paraplegic participants | - | significantly increased | #2 |
caffeine supplementation | no change | average power over the first 30 s | tetraplegic participants | - | not increased | #3 |
caffeine supplementation | no change | average power over the first 60 s | tetraplegic participants | - | not increased | #4 |
caffeine supplementation | no change | average power over the first 30 s | able-bodied participants | - | not increased | #5 |
caffeine supplementation | no change | average power over the first 60 s | able-bodied participants | - | not increased | #6 |
caffeine supplementation | increase | peak power | able-bodied participants | +46 W | increased | #7 |
caffeine supplementation | increase | peak power | paraplegic participants | +21 W | increased | #8 |
caffeine supplementation | increase | plasma caffeine concentrations | able-bodied participants | - | significantly increased | #9 |
caffeine supplementation | increase | plasma caffeine concentrations | paraplegic participants | - | significantly increased | #10 |
caffeine supplementation | increase | plasma caffeine concentrations | tetraplegic participants | - | significantly increased | #11 |
caffeine supplementation | increase | epinephrine concentrations | able-bodied participants | - | showed a significant increase | #12 |
caffeine supplementation | increase | epinephrine concentrations | paraplegic participants | - | showed a significant increase | #13 |
caffeine supplementation | increase | norepinephrine concentrations | able-bodied participants | - | increased significantly | #14 |
caffeine supplementation | increase | short-duration exercise performance | paraplegic participants | - | seems to enhance | #15 |
caffeine supplementation | no change | exercise performance | tetraplegic participants | - | no ergogenic effect was detected | #16 |
The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of caffeine supplementation on 3-min all-out arm crank exercise performance in paraplegic (P) and tetraplegic (T) compared with able-bodied (AB) participants. A placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover, and double-blind study design was chosen to investigate the differences between caffeine (CAF) and placebo (PLC). In total, 34 healthy, trained participants were tested. Seventeen were AB (median [minimum; maximum] VO2peak: 33.9 mL/min/kg [23.6; 57.6]), 10 were P (VO2peak: 34.4 mL/min/kg [19.5; 48.8]), and 7 were T (VO2peak: 13.6 mL/min/kg [8.6; 16.3]). All participants performed two 3-min all-out tests on an arm crank ergometer following the ingestion of either PLC or CAF. Power output parameters, plasma caffeine (PC), epinephrine (EPI), and norepinephrine (NOR) concentrations were assessed. CAF significantly increased average power over the first 30 s (p = .028) and 60 s (p = .005) in P, but not in T (p = .61; p = .87) nor in AB (p = .25; p = .44). Peak power was increased in the CAF trial in AB (+46 W) as well as in P (+21 W) but was not significantly different from PLC (AB: p = .10; P: p = .17). PC significantly increased in all groups (AB: p = .002; P: p = .005; T: p = .018) whereas EPI showed a significant increase only in AB (p = .002) and in P (p = .018). NOR increased significantly in AB (p = .018) but did not increase in the other groups. Caffeine seems to enhance short-duration exercise performance in P. In contrast, T showed a high interindividual variability and overall no ergogenic effect was detected in this group.