Effect of Seat Height and Angle on Wheelchair Foot Propulsion

May 6, 2024 updated by: Ed Giesbrecht, University of Manitoba

The purpose of the project is to explore the effect of differences in seat height and seat angle on bilateral foot propulsion using a manual wheelchair. The objectives of the study are to determine whether differences in seat height and seat angle impact: a) propulsion speed; b) knee range of motion used during propulsion; c) effectiveness of foot propulsion gait; and d) perceived difficulty with foot propulsion.

A repeated measures designs allows comparison between 5 different seat height conditions and 4 different seat angle conditions to determine whether there are significant differences in outcome, and if so, which conditions provide better outcomes. Participants will propel a customized MWC through a standardized course using each seat configuration; the sequence will be randomized to reduce any learning effects.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

31

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Manitoba
      • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3E 0T6
        • University of Manitoba

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • student in College of Rehabilitation Sciences enrolled in Master of Occupational Therapy, Master of Physical Therapy, or Bachelor of Respiratory Therapy program at the University of Manitoba.
  • Able-bodied individuals

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Students whose hip width exceeds 21 inches or lower leg length is shorter than 16 inches will be excluded as the test manual wheelchair will not accommodate these dimensions.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: LL & 0
Wheelchair seat height will be positioned at lower leg length and set inclination will be zero
Other: Seat height
Seat height of a manual wheelchair will be changed according the different arms specified. The participant will complete a course in the manual wheelchair with each arm.
Other: Seat inclination
Seat inclination of a manual wheelchair will be changed according the different arms specified. The participant will complete a course in the manual wheelchair with each arm.
Experimental: LL + 1
Wheelchair seat height will be positioned at the participant's leg length plus one inch with an inclination of zero
Other: Seat height
Seat height of a manual wheelchair will be changed according the different arms specified. The participant will complete a course in the manual wheelchair with each arm.
Experimental: LL - 1
Wheelchair seat height will be positioned at the participant's leg length minus one inch with an inclination of zero
Other: Seat height
Seat height of a manual wheelchair will be changed according the different arms specified. The participant will complete a course in the manual wheelchair with each arm.
Experimental: LL - 2
Wheelchair seat height will be positioned at the participant's leg length minus two inches with an inclination of zero
Other: Seat height
Seat height of a manual wheelchair will be changed according the different arms specified. The participant will complete a course in the manual wheelchair with each arm.
Experimental: LL - 3
Wheelchair seat height will be positioned at the participant's leg length minus three inches with an inclination of zero
Other: Seat height
Seat height of a manual wheelchair will be changed according the different arms specified. The participant will complete a course in the manual wheelchair with each arm.
Experimental: 3 degrees Inclination
Wheelchair seat height will be positioned at the participant's leg length with a forward seat inclination of 3 degrees
Other: Seat inclination
Seat inclination of a manual wheelchair will be changed according the different arms specified. The participant will complete a course in the manual wheelchair with each arm.
Experimental: 6 degrees Inclination
Wheelchair seat height will be positioned at the participant's leg length with a forward seat inclination of 6 degrees
Other: Seat inclination
Seat inclination of a manual wheelchair will be changed according the different arms specified. The participant will complete a course in the manual wheelchair with each arm.
Experimental: 9 degrees Inclination
Wheelchair seat height will be positioned at the participant's leg length with a forward seat inclination of 9 degrees
Other: Seat inclination
Seat inclination of a manual wheelchair will be changed according the different arms specified. The participant will complete a course in the manual wheelchair with each arm.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Propulsion speed
Time Frame: ~30-60 seconds
Speed will be determined via video recording. Two outcomes will be determined initial 10m and total test course
~30-60 seconds
Knee range of motion
Time Frame: ~30-60 seconds
Xsens sensors and mobile app will be used to determine the positions of the thigh and lower leg and knee joint angle will be obtained from the difference between these positions.
~30-60 seconds
Effectiveness of foot propulsion gait
Time Frame: ~30-60 seconds
Evaluated using the Wheelchair Propulsion Test developed by Askari et al. (2013). Simple, valid and reliable measure of propulsion for either upper or lower extremity propulsion techniques.
~30-60 seconds
Perceived difficulty with foot propulsion
Time Frame: ~30-60 seconds
Participant will provide subjective evaluations of how difficult they found foot propulsion after each trial, using Perceived Difficulty Questionnaire (Heinrichs et al., 2021).
~30-60 seconds

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Manitoba

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 20, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 30, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

October 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 7, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 12, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

September 13, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 6, 2024

Last Verified

May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HS25835 (H2023:027)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Data will not be shared outside of the principle and student investigator's conducting this study.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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