Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the trunk postures on performance during manual wheelchair propulsion on cross slopes. On a cross slope of 7%, 8 subjects performed propulsion with four styles of trunk postures: free, trunk extension, trunk lateral flexion and extension-lateral flexion combined. A three-dimensional motion capture system captured propulsion performance and computed the kinematics of downhill turning moment and shoulder and elbow range of motion. The downhill moment appeared to be less in extension and combined posture compared to the other two styles. Shoulder and elbow range of motion were greater in free and extension styles than the other two. All the subjects chose either free or extension as the most comfortable style. Trunk extension could reduce downhill turning moment and make wheelchair propulsion easier on cross slopes.
