Kinetic Analysis of Manual Wheelchair Propulsion in Athletes and Users with Spinal Cord Injury

During the last years, manual wheelchair propulsion in daily life and sports is increasingly being studied. We analyzed shoulder joint kinetics while propelling a wheelchair placed on a treadmill and compare shoulder joint net forces and moments of wheelchair propulsion on the treadmill in athlete group and non-athlete group. Ten subjects with thoracic spinal cord injury participated in this studied. A kinematic analysis system consisting of four camcorders (Kinescan-IBV) and a kinetic device that registered the contact force of the hand on the pushrim (SmartWheel) were used in to different protocols using a pulley system. The propulsion is different in the same conditions in both groups. Significant increases in shoulder joint loading were observed in wheelchair athlete group.