Use of Power Assist Wheels Results in Increased Distance Traveled Compared With Conventional Manual Wheeling
By Levy, Charles E.; Buman, Matthew P.; Chow, John W.; Tillman, Mark D.; Fournier, Kimberly A.; Giacobbi, Jr., Peter; American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vol. 89, No. 8, pp. 625-634Publication Date: August 2010
Study evaluated the impact of power assist wheels on the distance traveled by manual wheelchair users. Participants in the 16 week preintervention-intervention-postintervention study were 7 female and 13 male full time wheelchair users with a mean age of 43 years. During the 4 week pre- and postintervention phases, participants used their own unaltered manual wheelchairs, whereas during the 8 week intervention phase, the manual wheels were replaced with E.motion power assist wheels. Daily distance was measured with bicycle-style odometers and recorded in a log by participants. A composite score of laboratory wheelchair tasks was used to classify wheelchair performance. Mixed model repeated measures analysis of variance analyzed changes across phases of the trial. Analysis following interventions tabulated the number of days participants exceeded their individual daily averages in each phase by two standard deviations (SDs). Participants traveled significantly greater distances during the intervention phase compared with pre- and postintervention phases regardless of baseline wheelchair performance. Participants who demonstrated higher baseline wheelchair performance traveled shorter average distances in the first 2 weeks after receiving power assist wheels than in the subsequent 6 weeks. Participants exceeded their individual daily averages per phase on a significantly greater number of days during the intervention phase. Study limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
Published by: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins (Website:http://www.lww.com)
Association of Academic Physiatrists (Web Site: http://physiatry.org )
