A Wheelchair Propulsion Training Program

The purpose of this project is to develop a feasible wheelchair propulsion training that can fit into an in-patient rehabilitation schedule, and determine the effectiveness of the training protocol. This project consists of a randomized control trial (RCT) for manual wheelchair users (MWUs) that examines the number of manual wheelchair propulsion repetitions required to produce change. For the RCT, we will recruit twenty individuals who use manual wheelchairs as their primary means of mobility and who do not follow the recommended clinical guidelines for propulsion. Participants will be randomized into two independent groups: motor learning repetitions overground (Training Group; n =10), and general education on recommended propulsion techniques (Education Group; n =10). Demographics, cognition, shoulder strength, participation, and wheelchair seating may only be assessed at baseline. Participants then may be assessed from the kinematics of their wheelchair performance overground and on a motorized treadmill. Participants may be tested on their wheelchair propulsion techniques in and outside of the lab, upper extremity pain at baseline, post-intervention, and three-week follow-up; participants may also be asked qualitative questions regarding the intervention experience, the experience with the equipment and the laboratory research, the monitoring setting, and the general experience with the research study.

The primary research question is that will repetition of proper propulsion technique practiced overground result in improved manual wheelchair propulsion biomechanics?