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To investigate pushrim forces and joint kinetics during wheelchair propulsion and to discuss the differences between inexperienced and experienced wheelchair users.

Cohort study.

Human engineering laboratory at a state university.

Four men who use manual wheelchairs for mobility and four nondisabled men who did not have extensive experience pushing a wheelchair; all subjects were asymptomatic for upper extremity pain or injury.

Subjects pushed a commonly used wheelchair fitted with a force-sensing pushrim on a stationary wheelchair dynamometer. Video and force data were collected for 5 strokes at one speed of propulsion. Pushrim forces and net joint forces and moments were analyzed.

Pushrim forces, radial (F_r) and tangential (F_t), were analyzed and compared for both groups in relation to peak values and time to peak values …