Imu-derived humeral elevation angles during daily living of manual wheelchair users and able-bodied controls

Individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) who use manual wheelchairs (MWCs) are more susceptible to shoulder pathology than able-bodied individuals. A gap in knowledge exists in understanding how shoulder function of MWC users during daily living compares with the able-bodied population. To start to address this gap, inertial measurement units (IMUs) were used to quantify humeral elevation angles of MWC users and matched able-bodied controls during daily living. Early/mid MWC users spent a significantly higher percentage of their day in the 30-60º range than the controls, and significantly less time in the 0-30º humeral elevation range on the non-dominant side. Future work will connect trends in shoulder function to shoulder pathology.