Physical activity levels and shoulder pain in wheelchair users during COVID-19 restrictions.

Participants had to remember their physical activity, wheelchair use, transfers, weight relief, and shoulder pain before lockdown, so the before-lockdown figures may be biased by recall. The survey was advertised through social media and wheelchair charity websites, so it may not represent all UK wheelchair users. Shoulder pain was very common in the sample, with 67% reporting current pain and 17% reporting past pain, so the sample may have attracted people with pain experience. The sample included elite athletes, and the number of elite athletes was likely higher than in the wider wheelchair-using population, so results may not generalise to ordinary wheelchair users. Participants completed the survey between May 2020 and July 2020, so the amount of time they had been exposed to lockdown restrictions differed. The survey did not ask whether shoulder pain improved, so it could not determine whether reduced wheelchair use or transfers helped pain. People whose cognitive impairment would limit survey completion were excluded, so the results do not apply to that group.

Do not conclude that reduced wheelchair use caused the 22% of respondents to report more severe shoulder pain. The study found no relationship between changes in physical activity or wheelchair activities and onset or worsening shoulder pain, and it did not ask whether pain improved.