Subject- and injury-related factors influencing the course of manual wheelchair skill performance during initial inpatient rehabilitation of persons with spinal cord injury.

Objectives: To study changes in wheelchair skills in subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI) during rehabilitation; to determine whether changes in wheelchair skill performance are related to the subject, lesion characteristics, secondary complications, and upper extremity pain; and to investigate if wheelchair skill performance at discharge can be predicted from these features.

Design: Longitudinal. Subjects performed the Wheelchair Circuit 3 times during rehabilitation: at admission (t1), 3 months later (t2), and at discharge (t3).

Relationship between manual wheelchair skill performance and participation of persons with spinal cord injuries 1 year after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.

This cross-sectional study describes the level of manual wheelchair skill performance and participation of persons with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) 1 year after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation and tests the hypothesis that wheelchair skill performance is positively related to participation. Participants included 81 persons with SCI from eight rehabilitation centers in the Netherlands. The Wheelchair Circuit consists of eight wheelchair skills and results in three test scores: ability, performance time, and physical strain.

Hand-rim wheelchair propulsion capacity during rehabilitation of persons with spinal cord injury.

This paper describes the course of wheelchair propulsion capacity (WPC) during rehabilitation of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and its relationship with personal and injury characteristics. We investigated 132 subjects with SCI (37 with tetraplegia) at the start of active rehabilitation (t1), 3 months later (t2), and at the end of clinical rehabilitation (t3). WPC was measured as the maximal power output that can be achieved in a maximal wheelchair exercise test on a treadmill.

The longitudinal relation between physical capacity and wheelchair skill performance during inpatient rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To study the longitudinal relation between physical capacity and wheelchair skill performance in subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI) during rehabilitation.

Design: Observational prospective cohort study. Measurements were taken 3 times during subjects' rehabilitation.

Course of gross mechanical efficiency in handrim wheelchair propulsion during rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injury: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the course of mechanical efficiency of handrim wheelchair propulsion during rehabilitation of subjects with (in)complete paraplegia and tetraplegia.

Design: Subjects were tested at the start of active rehabilitation (t1), 3 months later (t2), and when discharged from inpatient rehabilitation (t3). They performed two 3-minute submaximal treadmill exercise blocks in a wheelchair.

The Wheelchair Circuit: Construct validity and responsiveness of a test to assess manual wheelchair mobility in persons with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To assess the validity and responsiveness of the Wheelchair Circuit, a test to assess manual wheelchair mobility in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Longitudinal. Subjects performed the Wheelchair Circuit at the start (T1) and at the end (T3) of inpatient functional rehabilitation.

Wheelchair skills tests: a systematic review.

Objective: To describe and compare the content, feasibility, outcome parameters, and clinimetric properties of the manual wheelchair skills tests reported in the literature.

Design: A systematic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO and Current Contents. Tests were selected if they were observational tests, designed for subjects using hand-rim wheelchairs and were intended to assess wheelchair skill performance at the activity level.

The wheelchair circuit: reliability of a test to assess mobility in persons with spinal cord injuries.

Objective: To assess the reliability of a 9-task wheelchair circuit.

Design: Three test trials per subject were conducted by 2 raters. Inter- and intrarater reliability were examined.