Abstract
In this investigation it was tried to evaluate the workload of wheelchair driving in physical units, i.e. watts or meter kg./sec. For this reason an ergometer was adapted so that subjects sitting in wheelchairs with fixed brakes, could hand frank it. They were asked to perform at a standard workload of ½ watt/kg. body weight and at 1 watt/kg. body weight for 5 minutes each. During this time heart rate, CO2 elimination, O2 uptake, minute volume of respiration and the RQ were continuously recorded or calculated. In a second procedure these subjects were asked to drive a conventional wheelchair 5 to 6 minutes at a convenient speed. During the last 2 minutes the V was measured with the Korfryani-Müller spirometer and samples of expired air were taken for O2 and CO2 analysis. The heart rate was recorded by telemetry. In a third procedure the subjects drove their wheelchairs for 5 minutes on platforms equipped with rollers so that the above mentioned parameters could be measured continuously. The data collected in the second and third parts of the experiment were projected on the graph of performance of ergometric experiments, and plotted along the X-axis to estimate the workload in watts. By this method it was possible to calculate the physical workload of wheelchair driving within a range of approximately ±5 watts.
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This study was partially supported by Grant No. CD 00031-10 from the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and supported in part by the Social and Rehabilitation Service, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, under the designation of New York University as a rehabilitation research and training centre.
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Stoboy, H., Wilson Rich, B. & Lee, M. Workload and energy expenditure during wheelchair propelling. Spinal Cord 8, 223–230 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1970.41
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1970.41
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