Richard W Bohannon. Ergometry : Suggestion from the Field ... Quad-quip⢠Inspection Mirror, Fred Sammons, Inc, Box 32, Brookfield,. IL 60513-0032. 362.
Adapting a Bicycle Ergometer for Arm Crank Ergometry : Suggestion from the Field Richard W Bohannon PHYS THER. 1986; 66:362-363.
The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, can be found online at: http://ptjournal.apta.org/content/66/3/362 Collections
This article, along with others on similar topics, appears in the following collection(s): Therapeutic Exercise
e-Letters
To submit an e-Letter on this article, click here or click on "Submit a response" in the right-hand menu under "Responses" in the online version of this article.
E-mail alerts
Sign up here to receive free e-mail alerts
Downloaded from http://ptjournal.apta.org/ by guest on October 31, 2012
Adapting a Bicycle Ergometer for Arm Crank Ergometry Suggestion from the Field RICHARD W. BOHANNON
Disabled individuals often demonstrate decreased cardio respiratory fitness.1,2 One of the methods that has been used increasingly to document the fitness level of these persons, particularly those with lower extremity amputations and spinal cord injuries, is arm crank ergometry.3-5 Apparently, arm crank ergometers, which are used also for increasing upper extremity exercise capacity,4,6,7 are adapted often from standard bicycle ergometers.4-6,8 When we sought to adapt a standard bicycle ergometer* for arm crank ergometry, we met with several problems that others may also have encountered. The purpose of this sug gestion from the field is to identify these problems and the solutions we applied to them. Most of the adaptations are pictured in Figure 1. PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Problem and Solution 1 Foot pedals were found to be inadequate for hand cranking. We, therefore, removed from the foot pedals everything except the central hubs, which we wrapped with adhesive tape. We slipped handlebar handgrips over them. These handgrips proved quite adequate for arm cranking. Problem and Solution 2 The ergometer was unstable when placed on a tabletop. We, therefore, anchored it to the tabletop using U bolts over the front horizontal base brace and straight bolts through the rear horizontal base brace. These bolts adequately stabilized the ergometer.
which was directed posteriorly, and welded another tube to it that was vertical. This modification allowed patients to sit closer to the ergometer. Thus, they could reach the handgrips throughout the crank cycle. Problem and Solution 5 Patients had difficulty monitoring their crank rate and, therefore, controlling their power output because the face of the tachometer was not visible to them during arm cranking. We, therefore, secured a skin inspection mirror† to the cover over the flywheel using a C clamp. Because the mirror has a flexible handle, the face of the mirror can be adjusted so that the tachometer face is visible during arm cranking. Because we used an old plinth table that we otherwise would have discarded, the adaptations we applied cost us less than $40. The adapted ergometer has provided us with a device that is much more functional than an unmodified bicycle ergometer on a tabletop (Fig. 2). The ergometer's usefulness is demonstrated by the more than 800 miles that have been logged on the ergometer during testing and training.
† Quad-quip™ Inspection Mirror, Fred Sammons, Inc, Box 32, Brookfield, IL 60513-0032.
Problem and Solution 3 When the ergometer was placed on the tabletop, the patients using it had to rotate their shoulders internally to avoid banging their elbows on the tabletop. A narrow extension from the tabletop provided adequate clearance for arm crank ing without internal rotation of the shoulder. Problem and Solution 4 Patients with short arms had difficulty reaching the hand grips when the crank arm was at its most forward position. Our engineering department, therefore, cut off the seat tube, Mr. Bohannon is Chief, Department of Physical Therapy, Southeastern Regional Rehabilitation Center, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, PO Box 2000, Fayetteville, NC 28302 (USA). This article was submitted July 15, 1985, and was accepted September 25, 1985.
Monarch Model 868, Monarch-Crescent AB, Box 503, 43201 Varberg, Sweden, 034/860 00.
Fig. 1. Bicycle ergometer modified for arm crank ergometry.
362
PHYSICAL THERAPY Downloaded from http://ptjournal.apta.org/ by guest on October 31, 2012
PRACTICE
Acknowledgments. I respectfully acknowledge the innovative spirit of all those clinicians who contributed to the adaptation of the bicycle ergometer. The Engineering Department of Cape Fear Valley Medical Center was invaluable in the actual modifications of the ergometer. I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Marian Geddie in the manuscript's preparation.
REFERENCES
Fig. 2. Individual performing arm crank ergometry on modified bicycle ergometer.
1. Kavanagh T, Shephard RJ: The application of exercise testing to the elderly amputee. Can Med Assoc J 108:314-317,1973 2. Sawka MN, Glaser RM, Laubach LL, et al: Wheelchair exercise performance of the young, middle-aged, and elderly. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 50:824-828,1981 3. Gass GC, Camp EM: The maximum physiological responses during incremental wheelchair and arm cranking exercise in male paraplegics. Med Sci Sports Exerc 16:355-359,1984 4. Franklin BA, Vander L, Wrisley D, et al: Aerobic requirements of arm ergometry: Implications for exercise testing and training. The Physician and Sportsmedicine 11(10):81-90,1983 5. Glaser RM, Sawka MN, Brune MF, et al: Physiological responses to maximal effort wheelchair and arm crank ergometry. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 48:1060-1064,1980 6. DiCarlo SE: Improved cardiopulmonary status after a two-month program of graded arm exercise in a patient with C6 quadriplegia. Phys Ther 62:456-459,1982 7. Huang CT, McEachran AB, Kuhlemeier KV, et al: Prescriptive arm ergometry to optimize muscular endurance in acutely injured paraplegic patients. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 64:578-582,1983 8. Zwiren LD, Bar-Or O: Responses to exercise of paraplegics who differ in conditioning level. Med Sci Sports Exerc 7:94-98,1975
Volume 66 / Number 3, March 1986 Downloaded from http://ptjournal.apta.org/ by guest on October 31, 2012
363
Adapting a Bicycle Ergometer for Arm Crank Ergometry : Suggestion from the Field Richard W Bohannon PHYS THER. 1986; 66:362-363.
http://ptjournal.apta.org/subscriptions/
Subscription Information
Permissions and Reprints http://ptjournal.apta.org/site/misc/terms.xhtml Information for Authors
http://ptjournal.apta.org/site/misc/ifora.xhtml
Downloaded from http://ptjournal.apta.org/ by guest on October 31, 2012
