A Biomechanical Analysis of Handcycling: A Case Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate muscle activity, kinematic, and handgrip-force pattern generation during handcycling. One able-bodied participant performed a 1-min exercise test on a handcycle at 70 revolutions per minute. This article proposes an original data collection and analysis methodology that gathers synchronized kinematics, kinetics, and electromyography. Such data, which most often appear complex, are easily summarized using this methodology. This preliminary study has an new setup and offers good indications on the biomechanical pattern for handcycling movement analysis.

Human upper-limb force capacities evaluation with robotic models for ergonomic applications: effect of elbow flexion

“…In work and daily life activities, e.g. grasping and reaching, it appears that the elbow flexion has an important range of motion (van Andel et al 2008;Jacquier-Bret et al 2012 propulsion elbow flexion variation seems to have an important effect on FE parameters (Faupin et al 2010;Jacquier-Bret et al 2013a). So, we decided to consider several postures with varying elbow flexion.…”

Effects of type and mode of propulsion on hand-cycling biomechanics in nondisabled subjects

“…x-, y-, and z-axes = three-dimensional coordinates in global reference system. imposes a constant rolling resistance on the front wheel [28][29]. A virtual slope represents the rolling resistance and is chosen by the investigator using the software of the Elite Axiom (1% in the present study).…”

“…This measurement system comprises six digital cameras equipped with an infrared flash system. Marker locations are similar to Faupin et al's protocol [24,[29][30]. We placed 22 anatomical and technical markers on the participants (anatomical markers: one on the forehead, the chin, the sternum, the seventh cervical vertebra [C7], and the third lumbar vertebra [L3]; two on the acromions, the temples, the styloid process of the radius and cubitus, and the metacarpals of the auricular and index.…”

“…We used a freely rotating, instrumented, dynamometric right pedal (Sensy, 9PED version, aluminum; Jumet, Belgium) with an attached handgrip to measure the reaction forces, both radial and tangential [29]. We calibrated this dynamometric pedal by hanging weights from a dynamometric calibration device attached to the pedal while amplifying and recording voltage outputs from foil strain gauges.…”

“…The 3-D effectiveness of the force application has been defined as the fraction effective force (FEF) [34]. Since FEF has been previously defined in wheelchair literature as a 3-D measure and because our study only involves two-dimensional (2-D) forces measurements, we will use the notation FEF 2D for FEF [29] as A cable connected the dynamometric pedal to the Vicon system. The Vicon system synchronously collected the 3-D kinematic data (60 Hz) and the 2-D kinetic data (1,200 Hz).…”