Effect of Haptic Training During Manual Wheelchair Propulsion on Shoulder Joint Reaction Moments

Manual wheelchair propulsion is inefficient, with much force not contributing to forward movement. Haptic biofeedback (HB) training can improve mechanical efficiency, but its impact on shoulder load is unclear. This study investigates whether increasing propulsion efficiency by 10% via HB affects shoulder load. The HB simulator modifies force direction on the handrim in real-time, creating a resistive moment proportional to the error between the targeted and initial mechanical effective force. The study found increased shoulder loads with HB training, but the joint moment amplitude remained within literature values. The HB simulator is considered safe for enhancing mechanical effectiveness, though long-term effects are unknown.

• 1
  Tangential force increased significantly by 74-87% with haptic biofeedback training.
• 2
  Mechanical effective force increased by 9% between pre-training and training blocks.
• 3
  Haptic biofeedback led to a significant increase of shoulder moments with 1–7 Nm.