Print Email Facebook Twitter Trunk motion influences mechanical power estimates during wheelchair propulsion Title Trunk motion influences mechanical power estimates during wheelchair propulsion Author van Dijk, M.P. (TU Delft Biomechanical Engineering) Hoozemans, Marco J.M. (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) Berger, M.A.M. (The Hague University of Applied Sciences) Veeger, H.E.J. (TU Delft Biomechatronics & Human-Machine Control) Department Biomechanical Engineering Date 2024 Abstract In wheelchair sports, there is an increasing need to monitor mechanical power in the field. When rolling resistance is known, inertial measurement units (IMUs) can be used to determine mechanical power. However, upper body (i.e., trunk) motion affects the mass distribution between the small front and large rear wheels, thus affecting rolling resistance. Therefore, drag tests – which are commonly used to estimate rolling resistance – may not be valid. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of trunk motion on mechanical power estimates in hand-rim wheelchair propulsion by comparing instantaneous resistance-based power loss with drag test-based power loss. Experiments were performed with no, moderate and full trunk motion during wheelchair propulsion. During these experiments, power loss was determined based on 1) the instantaneous rolling resistance and 2) based on the rolling resistance determined from drag tests (thus neglecting the effects of trunk motion). Results showed that power loss values of the two methods were similar when no trunk motion was present (mean difference [MD] of 0.6 ± 1.6 %). However, drag test-based power loss was underestimated up to −3.3 ± 2.3 % MD when the extent of trunk motion increased (r = 0.85). To conclude, during wheelchair propulsion with active trunk motion, neglecting the effects of trunk motion leads to an underestimated mechanical power of 1 to 6 % when it is estimated with drag test values. Depending on the required accuracy and the amount of trunk motion in the target group, the influence of trunk motion on power estimates should be corrected for. Subject Inertial measurement unitMechanical powerRolling resistance forceWheelchair propulsionWheelchair sports To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:c87ae011-bca8-4dca-a055-07003d1c4fd1 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2024.111927 ISSN 0021-9290 Source Journal of Biomechanics, 163 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2024 M.P. van Dijk, Marco J.M. Hoozemans, M.A.M. Berger, H.E.J. Veeger Files PDF 1-s2.0-S0021929024000046-main.pdf 2.27 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:c87ae011-bca8-4dca-a055-07003d1c4fd1/datastream/OBJ/view