Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify the key muscles used for wheelchair driving in quadriplegics. Fifteen subjects with complete quadriplegia for at least 2.5 years after cervical spinal cord injury who were routinely using a wheelchair were divided into Group C6 and Group C7/8 according to the level of motor impairment, and were examined to establish the relationship between their remaining muscle strength and their ability at driving wheelchairs. The isometric maximal strengths of the shoulder horizontal adductors, shoulder extensors, shoulder flexsors, and elbow flexors were measured with a hand-held dynamometer, and expressed as the percentage of their weight. The ability to drive a wheelchair was evaluated with regard to the following three points. 1) Wheelchair velocity (m/s). 2) 3-min run distance (m). 3) Turning (times). Significant correlations were observed between the shoulder horizontal adductor strength and the value of each parameter of wheelchair driving ability, the shoulder flexor strength and each ability of wheelchair driving, the elbow flexor strength and the 3-min run distance in group C6. But no significant correlation was observed between the muscle strength and the values of parameters of wheelchair driving ability in Group C7/8. The shoulder horizontal adductors and shoulder flexors are considered to be key muscles in wheelchair driving in Group C6, in Group C7/8, besides these muscles, driving ability is considered to be dependent on the strength of the triceps brachii and driving pitch.
