Goodwin, Brianna M.

Background: Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) who use manual wheelchairs (MWCs) have a higher rate of rotator cuff pathology progression than able-bodied individuals. Objectives: This study aimed to test the ability of risk and recovery metrics of arm use to differentiate between (1) MWC users with SCI and matched able-bodied participants (cross-sectional matched-sample study) and (2) MWC users with rotator cuff pathology progression over 1 year from those without pathology progression (longitudinal study). Methods: Thirty-four MWC users and 34 age- and sex-matched able-bodied individuals were recruited. Upper arm risk (humeral elevation >60°) and recovery (static ≥5 seconds and humeral elevation <40°) metrics were calculated from wireless inertial measurement units (IMUs) worn on the upper arms and torso in the free-living environment. Two separate magnetic resonance imaging studies were completed and assessed for a subset of 16 MWC users approximately 1 year apart. Results: The frequency of risk events ( p = .019), summated duration of recovery events ( p = .025), and duration of each recovery event ( p = .003) were higher for MWC users than able-bodied participants. The summated duration of risk events ( p = .047), frequency of risk events ( p = .027), and risk to recovery ratio ( p = .02) were higher and the summated duration of recovery events ( p = .036) and frequency of recovery events ( p = .047) were lower for MWC users with rotator cuff pathology progression ( n = 5) compared to those without progression ( n = 11). Conclusion: IMU-derived metrics quantifying arm use at postures >60° and risk to recovery ratios may provide insights of potential risk factors for rotator cuff pathology progression.

Arm use in manual wheelchair (MWC) users is characterized by a combination of overuse and a sedentary lifestyle. This study aimed to describe the percentage of daily time MWC users and able-bodied individuals spend in each arm use intensity level utilizing accelerometers. Arm use intensity levels of the upper arms were defined as stationary, low, mid, and high from the signal magnitude area (SMA) of the segment accelerations based on in-lab MWC activities performed by eight MWC users. Accelerometry data were collected in the free-living environments from forty MWC users and 40 sex- and age-matched able-bodied individuals. The SMA intensity levels were applied to the free-living data and the percentage of time spent in each level was calculated. The SMA intensity levels were defined as, stationary: ≤0.67 g, low: 0.671–3.27 g, mid: 3.27–5.87 g, and high: >5.871 g. The dominant arm of both MWC users and able-bodied individuals was stationary for most of the day and less than one percent of the day was spent in high intensity arm activities. Increased MWC user age correlated with increased stationary arm time (R = 0.368, p = 0.019). Five and eight days of data are needed from MWC users and able-bodied individuals, respectively, to achieve reliable representation of their daily arm use intensities.

Importance: Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a common treatment for children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP). Although clinic-based assessments have demonstrated improvements in arm function after CIMT, whether these changes are translated and sustained outside of a clinic setting remains unclear. Objective: Accelerometers were used to quantify arm movement for children with CP 1 wk before, during, and 4 wk or more after CIMT; measurements were compared with those from typically developing (TD) peers. Design: Observational. Setting: Tertiary hospital and community. Participants: Seven children with CP (5 boys, 2 girls; average [ AVE ] age ± standard deviation [ SD ] = 7.4 ± 1.2 yr) and 7 TD peers (2 boys, 5 girls; AVE age ± SD = 7.0 ± 2.3 yr). Intervention: 30-hr CIMT protocol. Outcomes and Measures: Use ratio, magnitude ratio, and bilateral magnitude were calculated from the accelerometer data. Clinical measures were administered before and after CIMT, and parent surveys assessed parent and child perceptions of wearing accelerometers. Results: During CIMT, the frequency and magnitude of paretic arm use among children with CP increased in the clinic and in daily life. After CIMT, although clinical scores showed sustained improvement, the children’s accelerometry data reverted to baseline values. Children and parents in both cohorts had positive perceptions of accelerometer use. Conclusions and Relevance: The lack of sustained improvement in accelerometry metrics after CIMT suggests that therapy gains did not translate to increased movement outside the clinic. Additional therapy may be needed to help transfer gains outside the clinic. What This Article Adds: Accelerometer measurements were effective at monitoring arm movement outside of the clinic during CIMT and suggested that additional interventions may be needed after CIMT to sustain benefits.