The weight-bearing upper extremity in women with long term paraplegia

Bilateral upper limb pain, isokinetic strength, grip strength, range of motion, and activities of daily living (ADL) performance were compared in 11 women with long term paraplegia and 11 activity-level matched able-bodied women of similar age, to determine whether long term wheelchair use is associated with pain and altered function in the upper extremities. The results suggest that the development of pain in the upper limbs is clearly associated with paraplegia in women (p less than 0.01). Pain was reported most frequently by the paraplegics in the shoulders and secondly in the wrists and hands. ADL where the paraplegics experienced pain most often were work/school, outdoor wheeling, household work/childcare, and loading the wheelchair to and from the car. Whilst paraplegics reported intermittent rather than constant pain, the groups' relatively young age (mean = 43 years) and average duration of injury of only 15 years suggests that preventative and management steps are required to ensure continued independence and quality of life of this group as they age.