Wheelchair Athletic Injuries
Ross Hauser, M.D. Marion Hauser, M.S.,R.D.

As with other sports, the most common athletic injuries in wheelchair sports involve the soft tissues. (Curtis K.A., Dillon D.A., Survey of wheelchair athletic injuries: Common patterns and prevention. Paraplegia. 1985; 23:170.) Injuries usually occur to the joints, ligaments, and tendons.

The high incidence of shoulder injuries in wheelchair sports, particularly basketball and road racing, has been well documented. Bayley and associates found that 33 percent of wheelchair-bound paraplegics experienced chronic, persistent shoulder pain that was clinically diagnosed as rotator cuff impingement syndrome. (Bayley J.C., Cochran T.P., Sledge C.B., The weight-bearing shoulder: The impingement syndrome in paraplegics. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. 1987; 69A:676-678.)

In this condition, the rotator cuff tendons are pinched as they traverse to the shoulder underneath the coracoacromial ligament.

Shoulder problems, primarily rotator cuff symptoms, are frequent in wheelchair users, especially the older athletes. The physically challenged athlete must rely on the upper extremities to replace the functions of the lower extremities and still continue to function as the upper extremity in a normal way. This puts undue stress on more tenuous structures of the shoulder, such as the rotator cuff. Problems with the rotator cuff can be prevented through development of good muscle strength about the shoulder and receiving Prolotherapy to the rotator cuff tendons.

Dr. Robert Burnham and associates found that wheelchair athletes with this condition show evidence of weakness in the rotator cuff muscles. (Burnham, R. Shoulder pain in wheelchair athletes. American Journal of Sports Medicine. 1993; 21:238-242.)

It is well-known that ligament laxity causes a reflex inhibition of the muscles of the joint that cross and are stabilized by the particular ligament. This is why one of the characteristic features of ligament laxity is a weak sensation in the joint that is stabilized by the weak ligament. Prolotherapy to the wheelchair athletes' rotator cuff tendons and shoulder ligaments can be all that is needed to return the athletes back to their sports.

The best tactic is to do preventative measures to avoid development of shoulder impingement syndrome or other soft tissue injuries. A physician utilizing Prolotherapy can examine an athlete and find areas of tenderness even before pain is felt in the injured structures. A dolorimeter can be used to document the amount of pressure that is needed to elicit pain on the injured ligaments and tendons. A normal ligament or tendon can normally tolerate four pounds of palpatory pressure without eliciting pain. The normal and abnormal ligament/tendon palpatory pressures are measured and recorded. Prolotherapy and exercise to the appropriate structures are then used to prevent sports injuries but also to heal the injury.

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The information on this website is presented as information only and not a self-help guide. Never alter or change your health management or begin any new health plans without first consulting your personal health care provider. Some statements on this site regarding the value of nutritional supplements have not been evaluated by the FDA.

Prolotherapy may not be effective for every individual and there are risks involved, these risks should be discussed with your physician. Results achieved with some may not be typical of all. Please consult a physician.

There is no known cure for arthritis. Prolotherapy and nutritional supplements can help alleviate, reverse, or end arthritic pain by treating an underlying cause that contributes to degenerative disease, ligament laxity. Strengthening ligaments and other connective tissue can help prevent bone on bone arthritis from developing.