Effect of reverse manual wheelchair propulsion on shoulder kinematics, kinetics and muscular activity in persons with paraplegia

Shoulder pain is common after spinal cord injury due to increased arm use. Traditional wheelchair use can cause shoulder problems. Reverse propulsion, using geared wheels to move forward by pulling back on the rims, might change the forces on the shoulder. The study compared regular and reverse wheelchair propulsion. They measured movement, forces, and muscle activity in the shoulder during ergometer propulsion. Participants used their own wheelchair stabilized on the ergometer with ROWHEELS® or Smartwheels. Reverse propulsion may change how the shoulder is used, potentially preventing subacromial impingement. This could help prevent injury and keep people with paraplegia mobile.

• 1
  Free propulsion velocity, cycle distance and cadence were similar during RW, rSW and fSW.
• 2
  Superior and posterior shoulder joint forces and flexor, adductor, and external rotation moments were significantly less during rSW.
• 3
  Traditional propulsive-phase muscle activity was significantly reduced and recovery-phase muscle activity was increased during reverse propulsion.