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Int J Sports Med 2018; 39(12): 924-928
DOI: 10.1055/a-0635-0941
Training & Testing
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Wheelchair Skills Training for Functional Activity in Adults with Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Sang Seok Yeo
1   Dankook University, College of Health Sciences, Department of Physical Therapy, Cheonan, Korea (the Republic of)
,
Jung Won Kwon
1   Dankook University, College of Health Sciences, Department of Physical Therapy, Cheonan, Korea (the Republic of)
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History



accepted 02 May 2018

Publication Date:
11 September 2018 (online)

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Abstract

Wheelchair skills training can improve independent wheeled mobility for daily living activities as well as functional and social participation of adults with cervical spinal cord injury (C-SCI). The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of wheelchair skills training in improving both wheelchair skills and upper arm skilled performance in adults with C-SCI. In a randomized controlled study, 24 adults with tetraplegia were randomized and allocated to training group (n=13) or control group (n=11). The training group attended wheelchair skills training sessions, whereas the control group attended conventional exercise sessions. All interventions lasted 8 weeks, with a frequency of 3 days per week. All individuals were tested with the Wheelchair Skills Test (WST) and the Van Lieshout Test (VLT). The test was repeated at pre- and post-training (after 4 weeks and 8 weeks). For WST, univariate analysis demonstrated significant main effects in between-group, within-group, and group-by-time interaction (p<0.05). VLT showed no significant effect in between-group comparison (p>0.05), whereas within-group comparison of test times and group-by-time interaction showed significant main effects (p<0.05). Thus, wheelchair skills training is more beneficial for adults with C-SCI than conventional exercise.

Key words

wheelchairs - mobility - upper extremity - motor skills - spinal cord injury
 

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