The Influence of Glove Type on Simulated Wheelchair Racing Propulsion: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Our purpose was to examine the influence of glove type on kinetic and spatiotemporal parameters at the handrim in elite wheelchair racers. Elite wheelchair racers (n=9) propelled on a dynamometer in their own racing chairs with a force and moment sensing wheel attached. Racers propelled at 3 steady state speeds (5.36, 6.26 & 7.60 m/s) and performed one maximal effort sprint with 2 different glove types (soft & solid). Peak resultant force, peak torque, impulse, contact angle, braking torque, push time, velocity, and stroke frequency were recorded for steady state and sprint conditions. Multiple nonparametric Wilcoxon matched pair's tests were used to detect differences between glove types, while effect sizes were calculated based on Cohen's d. During steady state trials, racers propelled faster, using more strokes and larger contact angle, while applying less impulse with solid gloves compared to soft gloves. During the sprint condition, racers achieved greater top end velocities, applying larger peak force, with less braking torque with solid gloves compared to soft gloves. Use of solid gloves may provide some performance benefits to wheelchair racers during steady state and top end velocity conditions.

A high sample rate, wireless instrumented wheel for measuring 3D pushrim kinetics of a racing wheelchair

“…Similarly, at high speed, air drag accounts for about half of the overall drag [23]; yet air drag is not simulated on a training roller. This could explain why Rice et al [18] did not find differences in pushrim kinetics across three different speeds, and why our measured tan of 142 N was similar to the 132 N to 158 N in Goosey-Tolfrey et al [16], 102 N in Limroongreungrat et al [17], and 131 N in Miyazaki et al [19], with all of these studies also being performed on training rollers but at much slower speeds.…”

“…This new hypothesis will need to be verified in subsequent research using the instrumented wheel. Rice et al (2015) is the only other study that has measured kinetic and temporal parameters at maximal speed using a modified SmartWheel system. Our peak total force was much higher than theirs, with tot of 522 N compared to 272 N. We believe these discrepancies can be explained by the differences between the athletes, but maybe also by the different mechanical designs of the wheels.…”

“…However, their wheel was tethered to a computer using a slip ring, which prevented kinetics data from being recorded in real-field conditions. In a preliminary work on rigid vs. soft gloves, Rice et al [18] used a modified SmartWheel to measure the push kinematics of nine racers who propelled at maximal acceleration and three constant speeds of 5.36 m/s, 6.26 m/s and 7.60 m/s on a roller. Their wheel was, however, limited to a sampling frequency of 240 Hz and to our knowledge, no further details were later published on their work.…”

Effects of seat height, wheelchair mass and additional grip on a field-based wheelchair basketball mobility performance test

“…In several wheelchair sports, such as wheelchair rugby and wheelchair racing, the use of gloves is common and the benefits on performance are scientifically proven [11,12,13]. However, this study does not show a positive or a negative significant effect on mobility performance in wheelchair basketball.…”

“…In wheelchair racing and wheelchair rugby, it is common to use gloves to increase the friction between hand and rim. Gloves had a beneficial effect on wheelchair handling skills in rugby players and racers were able to achieve higher top end velocities by applying larger peak forces on the handrim [11,12,13]. Additional grip can, therefore, also be advantageous to mobility performance in wheelchair basketball.…”