Article

Service dogs help people with mobility impairments.
They are trained to perform a
variety of tasks, such as opening doors, retrieving the telephone, picking up
objects, and pulling manual wheelchairs (MWCs). More specifically, using the
traction provided by the service dog has physical benefits because MWC users can
operate their MWCs with less effort. The objective of this study was to document
the effect of a service dog on MWC mobility and user shoulder pain, social
participation, and quality of life. Eleven MWC users with spinal cord injury were
assessed before and after training with a service dog and 7 mo later. Based on a
standardized protocol, all study participants learned how to use the service dog
safely and how to move around efficiently in different environments and under
different conditions. Results showed that using a service dog increased the
distance covered by the MWC users and also significantly decreased shoulder pain
and intensity of effort. Using the service dog also produced slight but
significant improvements in MWC user skills and social participation and may
indicate a trend for improvement in quality of life. More extensive research is
needed to precisely identify the effect of service dogs on the long-term
management of MWC use.

Langue : ANGLAIS