BackgroundThree-dimensional kinematic analysis equipment is a valuable instrument for studying the execution of movement during functional activities of the upper limbs. The aim of this study was to analyze the kinematic differences in the execution of a daily activity such as drinking from a glass between two groups of patients with tetraplegia and a control group.MethodsA total of 24 people were separated into three groups for analysis: 8 subjects with metameric level C6 tetraplegia, 8 subjects with metameric level C7 tetraplegia and 8 control subjects (CG). A set of active markers that emit infrared light were positioned on the upper limb. Two scanning units were used to record the sessions. The activity of drinking from a glass was broken down into a series of clearly identifiable phases to facilitate analysis. Movement times, velocities, and the joint angles of the shoulder, elbow and wrist in the three spatial planes were the variables analyzed.ResultsThe most relevant differences between the three groups were in the wrist. Wrist palmar flexion during the back transport phase was greater in the patients with C6 and C7 tetraplegia than in the CG, whereas the highest wrist dorsal flexion values were in forward transport in the subjects with C6 or C7 tetraplegia, who required complete activation of the tenodesis effect to complete grasping.ConclusionsA detailed description was made of the three-dimensional kinematic analysis of the task of drinking from a glass in healthy subjects and in two groups of patients with tetraplegia. This was a useful application of kinematic analysis of upper limb movement in a clinical setting. Better knowledge of the execution of this movement in each of these groups allows therapeutic recommendations to be specifically adapted to the functional deficit present. This information can be useful in designing wearable robots to compensate the performance of AVD, such as drinking, in people with cervical SCI.

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Study design: Prospective study using biomechanics patient data. Objectives: To analyze shoulder joint kinetics while propelling a wheelchair placed on a treadmill and compare shoulder joint net forces and moments when changing the speed of wheelchair propulsion on the treadmill. Setting: National Hospital for Spinal Cord Injury, Toledo, Spain. Methods: Sixteen subjects with thoracic spinal cord injury participated. A kinematic analysis system consisting of four camcorders (Kinescan-IBV) and a kinetic device that registered the contact force of the hand on the pushrim (SMART Wheel ) were used. The wheelchair was propelled at 3 and 4 km h À1 without any ramp. An inverse dynamic model allowed shoulder joint net forces and moments to be calculated from the contact force of the hand on the pushrim and kinematic data. Results: Increasing propulsion speed increased most of the temporal parameters of propulsion and pushrim kinetics and shoulder joint net forces and moments. Compared with other studies that used an ergometer or dynamometer at the same speed, the magnitude of the shoulder joint net forces and moments elicited by wheelchair propulsion on the treadmill were lower than obtained by wheelchair propulsion on other devices. Conclusion: Lower magnitude of shoulder joint forces and moments found on the treadmill may be due to the lower friction compared with the other devices reviewed. Shoulder joint forces and moments depended strongly on the propulsion speed, increasing in magnitude when speed increased from 3 to 4 km h À1 .