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Published on: June 16, 2016
Wheelchair back-support options: functional outcomes for persons with recent spinal cord injury
Laura A May1, Carla Butt, Karen Kolbinson
1Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2-50 Corbett Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G4. laura.may@ualberta.ca
Objective:
To evaluate the functional outcomes for people with a recent spinal cord injury (SCI) when using 3 different back-support options.
Design:
Repeated-measures within-subject comparison.
Setting:
Rehabilitation center.
Participants:
Twenty-seven manual wheelchair users with recent SCI.
Interventions:
Three types of wheelchair back supports--a standard sling upholstery, a Jay J2 back, and a Pindot PaxBac--were used by each participant to evaluate performance of 4 functional tasks.
Main Outcome Measures:
Functional tasks included timed forward wheeling, ramp ascent, distance for forward vertical reach, and 1-stroke push. Product satisfaction was also rated.
Results:
For most participants, best performance for each task varied with back support used. Significant differences in functional performance were found for the reaching activity (P=.01), with greater reach when the J2 was used. Satisfaction ratings also differed significantly (P=.017), with participants indicating greater satisfaction with the J2. Participants' choice of back support varied and did not consistently correspond with best performance.
Conclusions:
Except for reaching, performance of functional activities did not differ depending on back support used. Objective evaluation of reaching ability may assist in product decision making. Inclusion of a consistent battery of functional tasks could provide a standardized reference point for clients' subjective evaluations.
