Grace Wuillermin

1. Activity Title: Adapted Wheelchair Mountain Biking

2. Sources:
Flint Rehab. (2020, October 23). Adaptive Equipment for Spinal Cord Injury: 9 Tools for

Quadriplegics. Flint Rehab. https://www.flintrehab.com/tools-for-quadriplegics/

Gravato, J. (2018, September 11). C-6 Spinal Cord Injury. Brain and Spinal Cord.

https://www.brainandspinalcord.org/c-6-spinal-cord-injury/

Move United. (n.d.). Mountain Biking. Move United. Retrieved October 22, 2021, from

https://www.moveunitedsport.org/sport/mountain-biking/

Shepherd Center. (n.d.). Levels of Injury - Understanding Spinal Cord Injury.

Www.spinalinjury101.org. Retrieved 2021, from

https://www.spinalinjury101.org/details/levels-of-injury

3. Equipment needed: The participant will need an adapted four-cross mountain bike, gloves
for gripping, helmet for safety, elbow pads, body armor for protection and sturdy shoes
like sneakers.

4. Activity Description:
• The participant needs to be wearing comfortable athletic clothes, sturdy shoes like
sneakers, gloves, elbow pads, body armor and a helmet.
• The participant is taken to the top of a mountain by a four-wheel tow or ski lift.
• They move to the adapted four-cross mountain bike and get comfortable with the bike
and the brakes.
• They travel down the mountain with gravity assisting them.
• There are no specific rules or guidelines for mountain biking. It is important to follow the
trail and stay with the leader. People can travel as fast or as slow as they please.
• Recreational Therapists would need additional training for leading adapted wheelchair
mountain biking. People trained in this field learn how to select a bike specific to an
individual’s needs.

5. Primary social interaction pattern(s) (activity analysis): The primary social interaction
pattern is extraindividual (action directed by a person towards an object; requires no
contact with another person). The participant is directly interacting with the adapted four-
cross mountain bike and does not need to be physically contacting other people. There
will be professional guides that are with the participant, but they do not need to be
touching. I chose adapted wheelchair mountain biking because for someone with an
incomplete C6 injury, they may be more comfortable and steadier in a wheelchair rather
than doing an activity where they must stand or walk. Adapted wheelchair mountain
biking builds self-confidence and independence because the participant is steering
themselves and it helps with balance. Being outdoors clears the mind and connects one
with nature. People can get a group of friends to go together and make it a social event.
Participants are engaged cognitively because they are aware of their surroundings and
paying attention to the path. They will experience a sense of freedom and adventure as
they are riding down the mountain.

6. Adaptation: A person with an incomplete C6 spinal cord injury could have affected
nerves that perform wrist extension, partial paralysis in legs, trunk and hands, muscle
atrophy, weakened breathing and lack of control over bladder and bowel movement.
Some people with an incomplete C6 injury could have partial or little control of their
hands. An adaptive equipment for this is called a universal cuff. It attaches to an item,
such as a pencil or hairbrush, and the person puts their hand through it to have a stronger
grip. This piece of equipment could be used on the brakes of an adapted wheelchair
mountain bike for participants with mediocre grip.

7. Participant: 21-year-old man with an incomplete C6 Spinal Cord Injury