Injury Prevention of Elite Wheelchair Racing Athletes Using Simulation Approaches

Abstract

Abstract:A high prevalence of shoulder injuries exists across the wheelchair using populations. To maintain competitive longevity and optimise performance, athletes must employ techniques which pose minimal injury risk. A computational model was used to assess relationships between the magnitude of reaction moments at the shoulder with key propulsion characteristics, including; contact and release angles, hand speed at contact, and joint angles at contact. Subject-specific musculoskeletal models (mass, maximum isometric force) for two elite wheelchair racing athletes were derived, and driven through kinetic and kinematic data obtained using motion capture. Greater reaction moments (min 72.6 Nm, max: 1077.8 Nm) at the shoulder were correlated with hand velocity (7.2 m/s-9.3 m/s) at contact (|r| > 0.866, p < 0.013), push time (|r| > 0.866, p < 0.013), and kinematic positioning at contact (|r| > 0.784, p < 0.020). Variations between athlete reaction force at the pushrim and joint reaction moments demonstrate the importance of coupled kinematic and modelling analysis in prescribing technique adaptations.

Prediction of Propulsion Kinematics and Performance in Wheelchair Rugby

“…Due to limitations in wheelchair design, lower classification scores were under-represented in this work as the majority used a smaller wheel size than was possible with the adjustable wheelchair (lower classifications often use 24-inch wheels (Goosey-Tolfrey et al, 2018 ) compared with 25-inch wheels for the adjustable wheelchair). Musculoskeletal models can potentially account for specific muscle functions of an individual and perform more detailed propulsion assessment through incorporation of three-dimensional motion throughout multiple strokes (Lewis et al, 2018 ), with the ability to develop and customize musculoskeletal models improving rapidly (Dembia et al, 2020 ). Individual customization of the musculoskeletal models would require further processing time and more detailed on-court testing assessment including motion capture and electromyography, which is more suited to elite level athletes initially.…”

“…However, musculoskeletal models currently find it difficult to independently scale individual body segments which would limit their applicability to amputees. The selection of modeling approach should therefore consider the ability to accurately measure and replicate individual capabilities (Lewis, 2018 ; McErlain-Naylor et al, 2021 ) as well as time restraints around any prescription approach.…”

“…Most current wheelchair propulsion modeling approaches have focused on musculoskeletal models attempting to quantify shoulder loads in daily propulsion to assess or reduce the likelihood of shoulder injuries (Morrow et al, 2010 ; Rankin et al, 2012 ; Slowik and Neptune, 2013 ; Hybois et al, 2018 ; Lewis et al, 2018 ). This is clearly a crucial area for improving the well-being of wheelchair users, but it is unable to address performance aspects such as sprint or agility times.…”

Development of an Autonomous Driving Smart Wheelchair for the Physically Weak

“…However, wheelchair operation is difficult for the elderly, owing to reduced muscle strength and agility. In addition, wheelchair users have a higher probability of upper-limb extremity injuries than non-users [2][3][4]. If an autonomous driving function is applied to an electric wheelchair, the user can move to a desired location without driving.…”

The Design of a New Manual Wheelchair for Sport

“…Many studies [1][2][3] assert that wheelchair users suffer from upper limb injuries more frequently than the rest of the population. Since the handrim is the world's most used manual propulsion system [4], the main causes of upper limb pain depend on the motion of the handrim system that is a pushing movement.…”