The Effects of Different Handle Orientation on Walkers' Stability during Sit-to-stand with Walker Assistance

• Main Authors: Yu-Ting Hsiao, 蕭宇庭
• Other Authors: Chung-Huang Yu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/9z99p7

碩士 === 國立陽明大學 === 物理治療暨輔助科技學系 === 104 === Sit-to-stand is a process from a sitting position to a standing position. It is one of the most important activities in daily living. For the lower limb weakness disabled, sit-to-stand would become difficult, which would affect their performance in daily lives and decrease their quality of life. Walker is not only a device for assisting ambulation, but it also plays an important role in assisting sit-to-stand. However, some research showed that some falling events happened during walker assisted sit-to-stand. Its stability during sit-to-stand assistance needed to be doubted. In our clinical observation and pilot study, we found out that walker users would push the handle downward and toward the users themselves during sit-to-stand. If the resultant force direction pointed out of the walker base of support (BOS), then the walker would tip. And if the users couldn’t maintain good motor control, it might lead them to fall. Therefore, walkers’ stability during sit-to-stand assistance needed to be further studied and improve. Thus, this study aimed to compare the effects of different handle orientations on walkers’ stability during sit-to-stand assistance in different users. We would like to see which handle orientation would easily avoid walker from tipping and increase the level of users’ safety, as well as calculate the magnitude of extra BOS in order to maintain the standard walkers’ stability. Our study recorded handles’ forces in different orientation (Anterior tilt 30 degree, posterior tilt 30 degree, normal, transverse and R type handle) as assisting sit-to-stand for the elderly and the young, and calculated the resultant moment to determine walkers’ stability. The extra BOS for maintaining a standard walker’s stability would be decided by the location where the resultant moment was zero. The result showed that the R type handle possessed the best stability level (p<0.05), and the other handles were worse than the normal handle. Walkers’ stability in the elderly group was also worse than that of the young group (p<0.05, anterior30 condition excluded). The standard walker extra BOS for the elderly and the young needed to be increased 0.38 and 0.09 meters respectively.