Pushrim Kinetics During Advanced Wheelchair Skills in Manual Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury |
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| Authors: | Jennifer Nagy MPT Amy Winslow MPT Jessica M. Brown BS Lisa Adams Kathleen O’Brien Michael Boninger MD Gregory Nemunaitis MD |
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| Affiliation: | 1.MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute of Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio;2.Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, Kansas City, Missouri;3.Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio;4.Gilmour Academy, Gates Mills, Ohio;5.Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio;6.University of Pittsburgh, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
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| Abstract: | Objective:To assess the peak force during wheelchair propulsion of individuals with spinal cord injury propelling over obstacles from the Wheelchair Skills Test.Participants/Methods:Twenty-three individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) who are full-time manual wheelchair users were included in this prospective study. A SmartWheel (Three Rivers Holdings, LLC) was used to analyze each push while subjects negotiated standardized obstacles used in the Wheelchair Skills Test, including tile, carpet, soft surface, 5° and 10° ramps, 2 cm, 5 cm, and 15 cm curbs.Results:When the peak forces of the advanced skills were compared to level 10 m tile/10 m carpet, there was a statistically significant increase in all peak forces (P value ranged from .0001 to .0268).Discussion:It is well documented that a large number of individuals with SCI develop upper limb pain. One of the recommendations to preserve the upper limb is to minimize force during repetitive tasks.Conclusion:Advanced wheelchair skills require an increase in force to accomplish. The increase in forces ranged from 18% to 130% over that required for level 10 m tile/10 m carpet. |
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| Keywords: | kinetics manual wheelchair peak force propulsion spinal cord injury wheelchair skills test |
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