Effects of Wheelchair Mass on the Physiologic Responses, Perception of Exertion, and Performance During Various Simulated Daily Tasks

Sagawa Y Jr, Watelain E, Lepoutre F-X, Thevenon A. Effects of wheelchair mass on the physiologic responses, perception of exertion, and performance during various simulated daily tasks.ObjectiveTo verify whether additional manual wheelchair mass above a critical level would produce, during many daily tasks, an increase in physiologic parameters, an increase in the perceived exertion, and a decrease in performance.DesignA repeated-measurement design.SettingSix standardized tests thought to mimic daily activities.ParticipantsVolunteers (N=21), 8 men with spinal cord injuries (SCIs; mean age, 34±12y; range, 19–56y) and 13 able-bodied persons (11 men and 2 women; mean, 24±5y; range, 18–37y).InterventionsRandom additional masses (“0”, 1, 2, 5kg) were placed under the seat of a multisport manual wheelchair (mass approximately 10kg) out of the subject's field of vision.Main Outcome MeasuresEnergy expenditure (EE; total o2 consumed), heart rate (total number of beats), perceived exertion (visual analog scale), and performance (seconds to execute a sprint test) were measured.ResultsFor all tests, there was no significant effect of mass found for either group for the EE, heart rate, and performance. In addition, for all tests, no significant effect of mass was found for the SCI group for the visual analog perceived exertion. However, for the able-bodied group, the added mass had a significant effect for the visual analog perceived exertion (F=6.11; P=.02) in the Stop-and-Go test. A post hoc Tukey test showed a significant difference between the 0kg and 5kg mass conditions (P<.01; d=.8), between 1kg and 5kg (P=.02; d=.6), and between 2kg and 5kg (P=.01; d=.6).ConclusionsBased on these findings, it can be concluded that, under the conditions of this study, additional mass (up to 5kg) loaded on a multisport manual wheelchair does not seem have any effect on EE, heart rate, or performance and has a minor effect on the visual analog perceived exertion evaluated in many activities of daily living.