Journal of

Introduction: Since the disability may be associated with functional impairments and the fact that exercise can reduce disability and maintain the function of individuals, so, we decided to conduct a study on the effects of resistance training on shoulder strength, pain and function in wheelchair users with impingement syndrome of shoulder.

Methods: In this randomised clinical trial study, In this randomized controlled intervention study, 20 wheelchair users with spinal cord injury suffered from shoulder pain (the mean age (39/3±6/4)) were chosen and divided randomly into two groups: the control (age:37/5±5/81, height:82/25±4/20, weight:77/25±12/98) and experimental groups (age:42/1±8/11, height:84/95±4/7, weight:74/23±11/39). Before performing the training programs, the pretests of the level of muscle strength, pain and function were measured for both the control and experimental groups. The experimental group performed selected exercises for 8 weeks, 3 sessions a week, each session lasted 60 minutes. After performing the training course, post-tests were administered in similar circumstances in both groups.  Data were analyzed by using covariance and dependent t-test.

Results: The results showed that the experimental group had a significantly improvement in the strength of external shoulder rotator muscles (from 7/66±1/38 to 10/71±1/73), pain (from 52/48±7/96 to 30/31±5/24) and the shoulder function (from 55/49±6/66 to 72/88±6/52) (P≤0/05).

Conclusions: This study showed that strength training has improved the strength, pain and shoulder function in wheelchair users, so participation in exercise training programs can be suggested for these persons.