Assessing the Impact of Loading on Mobility and Physical Exertion of Manual Wheelchair Users Using Wearable Sensors

Abstract

Manual wheelchair users face many physical and physiological demands when maneuvering and participating within their community. One aspect of daily life which has not been thoroughly examined is how carrying a load affects their mobility. This study presents data collected from 10 participants completing a short outdoor course. Each participant completed the course twice: with and without an additional backpack, carrying approximately 10% of their bodyweight. Inertial and heart rate data from wrist mounted sensors were analyzed to determine the effect of loading on manual wheelchair user mobility and cardiovascular strain. The results of the Wilcoxon sign-rank test showed that carrying a load significantly increased the travel time (z = -2.035, p = 0.042) and heart rate (z = -2.073, p = 0.038) of the participants. Furthermore, analysis of the propulsion data suggested different strategies were used by the participants to compensate for the loaded condition. This highlights the need for developing individualized rehabilitation strategies to address the unique needs of manual wheelchair users for improving their quality of life.