Postural analysis of eight university student wheelchair users
when performing written exercises in their classroom: A case study in Santiago
de Cali, Colombia
Affiliations: Grupo de Investigaciones en Ingeniería
Biomédica, Departamento de Automática y Electrónica,
Facultad de Ingenierías, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Cali,
Colombia
Note: [] Address for correspondence: David Leonardo Hurtado
Martínez, Calle 25 # 115, 85 Km, 2 Vía Cali –
Jamundí, Cali, Colombia. Tel.: 57 (2) 3188000 Ext. 11340; E-mail:
davidhleo@hotmail.com
Abstract: In students with physical disabilities, the more energy and time
required and invested into finding a good posture, the longer the learning
process takes. For this reason, the objective of this study was to characterize
the posture in the act of writing of wheelchair users in a classroom. Eight
students, (three women) aged 18–40, of some of the main universities of
the city of Santiago de Cali participated. An observational field study filming
of approximately 10 minutes was done while they took notes in their classes.
Posture of the head, trunk, and upper extremities was analyzed with respect to
its axis and the type of movement in each joint. The postures were classified
depending on the location of support surface finding five different postures in
the eight students. In these five postures some biomechanical risk factors,
usually present in wheelchair users, are increased when they are associated
with those postures. Those associated risk factors are: possible disc spine
deformation, muscular stress and causing of pressure ulcer. In conclusion, in
four of these five postures a poor interaction among person, task and work desk
was observed. Therefore, seven of the eight students in this study were found
to have a posture that could be considered risky.
