A method for the determination of center of gravity during manual wheelchair propulsion in different axle positions

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine and verify a measuring and modeling technique for the center of gravity during manual wheelchair propulsion. Eight non-wheelchair users propelled themselves on linear flat floor and a slope (1/12) in four axle conditions. A three dimensional motion capture system and the force plates recorded static and dynamic trials of propulsion performance. Positions of the combined center of gravity of a wheelchair and the human body were calculated using a kinematic model. The positions of the center of gravity had a highly significant correlation with the positions of the center of pressure obtained from the force plate data in the anterior-posterior direction in static trials (r=0.99, p