Biomechanical analysis of wheelchair propulsion for various seating positions

Abstract

The pattern of propulsion was investigated for five male paraplegics in six seating positions. The positions consisted of a combination of three horizontal rear-wheel positions at two seating heights on a single-purpose-built racing wheelchair. To simulate wheelchair propulsion in the laboratory, the wheelchair was mounted on high rotational inertia rollers. For three trials at each seating position, the subjects propelled the designed wheelchair at 60 percent of their maximal speed, which was determined at the beginning of the test session. At each trial, the propulsion technique of the subject was filmed at 50 Hz with a high-speed camera for one cycle, and the raw electromyographic (EMG) signal of the biceps, brachii, triceps brachii, pectoralis major, deltoid anterior, and deltoid posterior muscles were simultaneously recorded for three consecutive cycles. The digitized film data were used to compute the angular kinematics of the upper body, while the EMG signals were processed to yield the linear envelope (LE EMG) and the integrated EMG (IEMG) of each muscle. The kinematic analysis revealed that the joint motions of the upper limbs were smoother for the Low positions-since they reached extension in a sequence (wrist, shoulder, and elbow), when compared to the High positions. Also, the elbow angular velocity slopes were found to be less abrupt for the Backward-Low position. It was observed that in lowering the seat position, less IEMG was recorded and the degrees of contact were lengthened. Among the seat positions evaluated, the Backward-Low position had the lowest overall IEMG and the Middle-Low position had the lowest pushing frequency. It was found that a change in seat position caused more variation in the IEMG for the triceps brachii, pectoralis major, and deltoid posterior. The trunk angular momentum was not found to be affected by a change in seat position which may be related to the variability among the subject's technique of propulsion or to a posture compensation.