Effects of Mattresses Firmness and Spinal Curvature on Stress Distribution of Human Spine in Lying

• Main Authors: Zhe-Min Cai, 蔡哲民
• Other Authors: Ting-Sheng Lin
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/72355437995921089947

碩士 === 義守大學 === 生物醫學工程學系碩士班 === 94 === A good bed provided a body support which meant that it could evenly distribute the pressure on protruding parts of the body, maintain a straight spine when lying, and keep a natural S-shape to the spine in the supine posture. If each body part received minimal pressure on skin, and muscles were properly relaxed, sleeping on the bed could efficiently release the body fatigue. Although lacking of the scientific evidence to support this point, a firm mattress was commonly believed to be beneficial to the patients who had low-back pain, Besides, the ergonomic evaluation of the mattress was usually ignored in the previous researches. The purpose of this study was to ergonomically evaluate the mutual interaction between human spinal curvature and the mattress firmness. Finite element models were created to simulate the condition between the human body and the mattress when lying on the bed. The stress acting on the interface and the stress distributed inside the vertebrae was compared to understand the effects of the design variables of the mattress. The results showed that stresses increased as the spinal curvature and the firmness of the mattress. The interaction of curvature of the thoracic and lumbar spine would affect the stress distribution of the spine. From the results, a suitable mattress should be benefit to the people to have a better life quality. The ability to provide a proper support of the spine was also important when selecting the mattress except the firmness of it.