Relationship Among Manual Wheelchair Workload, Speed, Energy Expenditure, and Propulsion Mechanics
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Enrollment
- 11
- Locations
- 2
- Primary Endpoint
- Average Rolling Resistance (Newtons)
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The first purpose of this study is to characterize the relationship among propulsion workload, self-selected propulsion speed, and propulsion kinetics/kinematics.
The second purpose is to assess the between days repeatability/reliability of the above outcomes.
There are no hypothesis
This is a repeated measures clinical trial. All participants will complete the following: 1) Acclimation to propelling a manual wheelchair on a wheelchair ergometer; 2) Graded exercise test on the wheelchair ergometer to 80% of age adjusted estimated maximal heart rate; and 3) N=20 one minute propulsion bouts on the wheelchair ergometer.
Detailed Description
Participants will complete two visits in a 14 day period. Visit 1 will require 3-4 hours. Visit 2 will require 2-3 hours.
During visit 1 participant will complete: 1) Acclimation to propelling a manual wheelchair on a wheelchair ergometer; 2) Graded exercise test on the wheelchair ergometer to 80% of age adjusted estimated maximal heart rate; and 3) N=20 one minute propulsion bouts on the wheelchair ergometer.
During visit 2 participants will repeat the N=20 one minute propulsion bouts on the wheelchair ergometer.
Wheelchair ergometer propulsion acclimation: Participants will complete a minimum of 2 minutes of wheelchair propulsion to acclimate. Additional propulsion time will be completed as needed. Propulsion workload will be varied during the acclimation. Acclimation propulsion may be repeated as needed during study participation.
Submaximal wheelchair ergometer test protocol: Participants will rest quietly in the wheelchair for several minutes. After resting, participants will begin propelling at a comfortable speed at a low initial workload. Workload will be increased every minute. Propulsion speed will remain constant across all workloads. Test will end when participants reach 80% of age adjusted estimated maximum heart rate.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Na
- Intervention Model
- Single Group
- Primary Purpose
- Basic Science
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •age 18 years or older
- •cleared to participate in physical activity as determined by the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone (PAR-Q+)
- •self-reported ability to propel a manual wheelchair
- •not currently disabled
Exclusion Criteria
- •no additional exclusion criteria if otherwise eligible to participate
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Average Rolling Resistance (Newtons)
Time Frame: Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout
Average rolling resistance during each completed propulsion cycle (i.e. contact+recovery) averaged across all completed propulsion cycles in the specified time frame.
Self-Selected Speed (meters per second)
Time Frame: Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout
Average linear propulsion speed during each completed propulsion cycle (i.e. contact+recovery) averaged across all completed propulsion cycles in the specified time frame.
Secondary Outcomes
- Number of completed propulsion cycles used to generate the outcomes of interest(Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout)
- Average push frequency (pushes per minute)(Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout)
- Average push length (Degrees)(Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout)
- Average propulsive torque (Newton meter)(Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout)
- Average external power output (Watts)(Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout)
- Average resultant force (Newtons)(Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout)
- Average rate of rise of resultant force (Newtons per second squared)(Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout)
- Average push power output (Watts)(Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout)
- Average total work per push (Joules)(Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout)
- Frequency of each unique propulsion pattern(Seconds 20 to 40 of each 1 minute propulsion bout)
Investigators
Rachel Cowan
Assistant Professor
University of Alabama at Birmingham