Perception of the use of a manual wheelchair by people with Spinal Cord Injury: the Wheelchair Mobility Activity Log (WC-MAL)

Research Objectives: To assess the perception of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) regarding the use of manual wheelchair

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Functionality and Technological Innovation in Neurorehabilitation Group Lab, Brazil.

Participants: Eighteen participants between 20 and 40 years old with SCI were included in the study. Among the participants, 10 were females, 10 were individuals had paraplegia, and 8 had incomplete tetraplegia. Participants were included at least 1 year after their injury, if they used a manual wheelchair, and had internet access to answer the assessments questionnaires remotely.

Interventions: NA.

Main Outcome Measures: Sociodemographic data, self-reported shoulder pain level, and perception of manual wheelchair use in a real environment were collected by videoconference.
The Wheelchair Mobility Activity Log (WC-MAL) is a semi-structured interview that aims to evaluate the use of a wheelchair in a real environment. It consists of three scales, the Frequency Scale (FS), the Performance Scale (PS), and the Assistance Scale (AS) which measures 23 items (wheelchair mobility activities). Each scale ranges from 0 (did not perform the activity) to 5 (greater frequency, better performance and less need of assistance).

Results: The mean of the FS was 3.1±0,7, indicating a frequency of the wheelchair use classified as “sometimes”. The average of the PS was 3.0±0,8, indicating “moderate” performance and, the average of the AS was 3.1±0,8, indicating “supervision” in most of the activities. The items with the lowest scores reported by the participants on the AS and PS were those that require greater ability with a wheelchair.
Five out of eighteen reported shoulder pain, and from those, three had tetraplegia. Finally, patients who reported no shoulder pain showed higher scores on the PS compared to participants with shoulder pain, with scores 3.2 and 2.5 respectively.

Conclusions: People with SCI have limited use of a manual wheelchair in activities that require great skill. Performance in manual wheelchair use can be influenced by shoulder pain.

Author(s) Disclosures: No conflict to declare