A New Method to Quantify Demand on the Upper Extremity During Manual Wheelchair Propulsion
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2004
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2003.10.024
Abstract
Objective
To use an ergonomics-based rating that characterizes both demand on, and capacity of, upper-extremity muscle groups during wheelchair propulsion to help identify the muscle groups most at risk for pain or overuse injury in a relatively demanding wheelchair propulsion task.
Design
Case series.
Setting
Biomechanics research laboratory.
Participants
Sixteen manual wheelchair users with complete (American Spinal Injury Association grade A) T6-L2 paraplegia.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main outcome measures
Internal peak joint moments required by each of the major upper-extremity muscle groups for propelling a wheelchair up a ramp; isometric strength of each of the muscle groups in positions simulating wheelchair propulsion; and wheelchair propulsion strength rating (WPSR) for each muscle group, calculated by normalizing the joint demands to their capacity.
Results
The largest joint moment was for shoulder flexion, at 39.7±13.9Nm. Shoulder flexion also accounted for the peak WPSR value of 66.5%±20.3%. Supination and pronation movements had low peak moment requirements (3.4Nm, 5.0Nm, respectively) but high WPSR values (41%, 53%, respectively).
Conclusions
Even a relatively benign ramp (2.9°) places a large demand on the musculature of the upper extremity, as assessed by using the WPSR to indicate muscular demand.
Publication Information
Sabick, Michelle B.; Kotajarvi, Brian R.; and An, Kai-Nan. (2004). "A New Method to Quantify Demand on the Upper Extremity During Manual Wheelchair Propulsion". Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 85(7), 1151-1159.