Independent research from Active Controls LLC, along with MossRehab Hospital’s Gait & Motion Analysis Laboratory, suggests that the traditional armrest-mounted joystick control for power wheelchairs may be a medical risk.
The study, led by lab director Alberto Esquenazi, MD, was conducted using pressure mapping, dynamic electromyogram, 3D kinematics, and patient subjective reports.
According to a media release from Active Controls LLC, the MossRehab Study suggests that the joystick location along the armrest could be the cause of musculoskeletal conditions.
“When operating a PWC with an armrest-mounted drive control, the user often leans on the armrest where the joystick is mounted in order to improve drive control. The long-term consequences for wheelchair users manipulating a joystick with repetitive motions while seated in awkward postures will often present in the form of muscular skeletal conditions, and be accompanied by pain attributed to inappropriate seating support,” Esquenazi explains in the release.
The study also suggests that an unbalanced posture caused by a lateral joystick location could be a contributor to pressure ulcer formation, per the release.
The Active Controls Center Drive System was developed to help enable control of a power wheelchair from the middle rather than from the side, the release explains.
The system is modular and easily removed for access to the seat, and features bilateral gel pads that help provide secondary support surfaces for the hands, wrists, and lower arms to facilitate drive control, according to the company.
For more information, visit Active Controls LLC.
[Source(s): Active Controls LLC, PRWeb]
I found your article to be relevant to the situation that I am experiencing.
For six months,I have used a PWC that was too big for me causing me to lean while driving. I am now having difficulty defining the excruciating pain that I experience in the arm that I do not use to drive the chair. I no longer have full range of motion and at times I cannot stretch forth my arm without psin. This is now accompnnied by pain underneath and in my shoulder blade. I have Spinal Stenosis which has been dormant and slight Scoliosis. Any thoughts?
This article is very important , because register what terapists are seing a long time ago and how dificult is customize everything, even with all types of customization.I can say , as everyone, that scoliosis, patterns of spasticity, changes of range of motion on the pelvis on the same side, arm tendinits , headeaches , etc are involved too.
Alexandre dos Reis T.Pinto ( Facebook)
Health Coordinator of Brazilian Powerchair football.
http://www.abfc.org.br
Alexandre,
Thank you for your observations concerning drive controls mounted on armrests of Power wheelchairs.
We are looking for a distributor for our Active Controls central driving controls and modular platforms in Brazil. Please recommend a distributor for us in your country who knows about power wheelchairs.
Thank you!
I don’t doubt the results or the methods, but it’s troublesome that the study appears to benefit one of the primary funders of the research. That’s not “independent” research.
Please keep me posted