Wheelchair skills training for individual with spinal cord injury: a pilot study
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2011-02-01
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Physical Therapy Association of Thailand
Abstract
Objectives:To study the effectiveness of a 5-day wheelchair skills training (WST) for paraplegic persons. Methods: Fourteen paraplegic persons (average age 29.36 years, 1 new case and 13 chronic cases) participated in the WST programme which consisted of watching a video of wheelchair skills and practicing wheelchair skills: indoor skills, community skills and advance skills Each person\’s wheelchair skills were assessed pre- and post-training by using the wheelchair skills version 3.2 (by Kirby et al, 2004). Paired t - test was used to analyse the effectiveness after training. Results: All partipants used a sport wheelchair except one using a standard wheelchair. Improvement in wheelchair skills after completion of the WST programme was significantly increased from 68.97%ฑ11.91 to 90.34%ฑ8.37 (p\< 0.001). There were 2 skills - ascending high curb (15cm) and negotiation obstacle 13 cm high, that all participants could not achieve. The only one person who used a standard wheelchair could not perform any advance wheelchair skills. Conclusion: The 5-day wheelchair skills training programme could improve wheelchair skills of paraplegic wheelchair users. Achievement seems to depend on types of wheelchair i.e., a sport wheelchair is preferable.
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Thai Journal of Physical Therapy; Vol 32 No 3 2010; 173-180