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Table 1 Physiological and biomechanical characteristics for overground (OG), treadmill (TM), and ergometer (WE) wheelchair propulsion (n = 17)

From: Physiological and biomechanical comparison of overground, treadmill, and ergometer handrim wheelchair propulsion in able-bodied subjects under standardized conditions

Variable

 

Mean (± SD)

Contrast

ICC (95% CI)a

p-valueb

p-value

Effect size

Experimental

       

Power output (W)

OG

TM

WE

8.12 (1.41)

7.84 (1.92)

8.65 (2.24)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

n.s.e

0.57 (0.15–0.82)

0.52 (0.10–0.79)

0.10

0.01

0.00

n.s.f

n.s.f

n.s.f

 

Speed (m/s)

OG

TM

WE

1.12 (0.02)

1.12 (0.00)

1.14 (0.02)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

n.s.e

n.s.e

n.s.e

0.48

0.57

0.52

0.20g

0.02g

0.03g

0.7i

− 0.6i

Physiological

       

Heart rate (bpm)h

OG

TM

WE

94.49 (11.80)

89.30 (11.31)

92.24 (13.16)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

0.86 (0.05–0.97)

0.91 (0.73–0.97)

0.88 (0.64–0.96)

0.00

0.13

0.07

0.00c

0.27c

0.07c

− 1.4d

Energy expenditure (W)

OG

TM

WE

208.88 (50.00)

195.97 (40.08)

206.31 (42.47)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

0.74 (0.42–0.90)

0.68 (0.31–0.87)

0.78 (0.49–0.91)

0.00

0.00

0.00

n.s.f

n.s.f

n.s.f

 

Gross mechanical efficiency (%)

OG

TM

WE

4.07 (1.07)

4.12 (1.10)

4.28 (1.15)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

0.75 (0.44–0.90)

0.44 (0.00–0.75)

0.55 (0.11–0.81)

0.00

0.03

0.01

n.s.f

n.s.f

n.s.f

 

Spatiotemporal

       

Push time (s)

OG

TM

WE

0.35 (0.06)

0.35 (0.07)

0.32 (0.07)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

0.85 (0.64–0.94)

0.80 (0.34–0.93)

0.83 (0.35–0.95)

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.96c

0.00c

0.00c

− 0.8d

0.8d

Cycle time (s)

OG

TM

WE

1.43 (0.47)

1.31 (0.44)

1.28 (0.55)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

0.85 (0.60–0.95)

0.79 (0.49–0.92)

0.75 (0.44–0.90)

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.02g

0.01g

0.39g

0.6i

0.8i

Contact angle (deg)

OG

TM

WE

71.43 (12.34)

72.28 (13.64)

68.74 (14.01)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

0.86 (0.66–0.95)

0.87 (0.60–0.95)

0.87 (0.60–0.95)

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.83c

0.00c

0.00c

− 1.2d

0.9d

Kinetics

       

Fraction of effective force (%)

OG

TM

WE

69.28 (10.33)

69.67 (9.86)

73.38 (8.11)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

0.92 (0.81–0.97) 0.71 (0.29–0.89)

0.69 (0.30–0.88)

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.69c

0.02c

0.03c

0.6d

− 0.7d

Mean torque per push (Nm)

OG

TM

WE

4.63 (1.06)

4.34 (1.33)

4.65 (1.33)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

0.76 (0.47–0.91)

0.81 (0.55–0.93)

0.81 (0.55–0.93)

0.00

0.00

0.00

n.s.f

n.s.f

n.s.f

 

Max torque per push (Nm)

OG

TM

WE

7.83 (2.02)

7.43 (2.41)

8.25 (2.73)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

0.81 (0.57–0.93)

0.82 (0.57–0.93)

0.77 (0.46–0.91)

0.00

0.00

0.00

n.s.f

n.s.f

n.s.f

 

Work per push (J)

OG

TM

WE

5.94 (1.94)

5.61 (2.17)

5.64 (2.20)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

0.82 (0.57–0.93)

0.85 (0.63–0.94)

0.80 (0.53–0.92)

0.00

0.00

0.00

n.s.f

n.s.f

n.s.f

 

Negative work per cycle (J)

OG

TM

WE

− 1.44 (0.51)

− 0.50 (0.20)

− 0.42 (0.21)

OG vs. TM

OG vs. WE

TM vs. WE

n.s.e

n.s.e

0.52 (0.10–0.79)

0.23

0.21

0.01

0.00g

0.00g

0.07g

− 1.0i

− 1.0i

  1. aTwo-way random-effects model, single rater, absolute agreement, ≥ good values are bold
  2. bp-values for the intraclass-correlations, significant results are bold
  3. cPaired-comparison with t-test without correction, significant results are bold
  4. dEffect size: Cohen’s d
  5. eNon-significant intraclass-correlation
  6. fNon-significant main effect
  7. gWilcoxon signed-rank test
  8. hn = 14
  9. iRank-biserial correlation