Quantitative functional assessment of multidirectional upper limb strength for individuals in a seated position

Type of content
Journal Article
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
eng
Date
2023
Authors
Stilwell, George
Symons, Digby
Gooch, Shayne
Dunn, Jennifer
Abstract

Understanding the limitations that are imposed by a disability is critical to ensure engineers develop designs that can be used by people with reduced function. Current literature lacks detail on this information for people with cervical spinal cord injuries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of a novel testing methodology to quantitatively assess the multi-directional upper limb strength of individuals in a seated position. Eleven non-disabled males and 10 males with a C4–C7 spinal cord injury completed isometric strength tests on parasagittal (XY) planes using a novel method. Multidirectional (XY) force measurements were taken at discrete points within the participant's reach envelope. Isometric force trends and analysis of the coefficients of variation were used to evaluate the novel methodology. The isometric force trends were consistent in showing a reduction in strength for people with higher injury levels. Analysis of the coefficient of variation showed that the methodology produces repeatable results with an average coefficient of variation of 18% and 19% for the right and left upper limbs, respectively. These results show that the novel testing methodology is a reliable way to gather quantitative multidirectional upper limb strength data for individuals in a seated position.

Description
Citation
Stilwell G, Symons D, Gooch S, Dunn J (2023). Quantitative functional assessment of multidirectional upper limb strength for individuals in a seated position. Applied Ergonomics. 110. 104023-.
Keywords
Upper extremity, Spinal cord injuries, tetraplegia, static arm strength, Multidirectiona isometric force
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
42 - Health sciences::4207 - Sports science and exercise::420701 - Biomechanics
32 - Biomedical and clinical sciences::3208 - Medical physiology
Rights
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync- nd/4.0/).