Start Date
2022
Description
In the past decade, usage of walking aids in the senior population has increased by 50 percent and is expected to double by 20501 . Walkers are used as a temporary aid to encourage mobility after surgery or fracture, but they often become permanent aids2 . In the United States, about 12 percent of the elderly population use walkers1. Walkers are prescribed to reduce the load on lower limbs and/or to improve balance and stability. However, longer usage of walkers leads to low physical function and low self-confidence. Walker users typically have forward leaning posture due to load transfer from their lower limbs to their arms leading to low muscle activation in the trunk2 . The goal of this project is to develop a walker prototype with a flexible handle. We hypothesize that this will decrease arm loading leading to more upright posture, as well as challenging users to engage their trunk muscles more.
Recommended Citation
Detmer, Simon; Regmi, Gita; Boellner, Kaitlyn; Reinthal, Ann; and Richter, Hanz, "Development and Preliminary Testing of a WalkAssist Device With Dynamic Support" (2022). Summer Research. 12.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/summer_research/2022/Posters/12
Included in
Development and Preliminary Testing of a WalkAssist Device With Dynamic Support
In the past decade, usage of walking aids in the senior population has increased by 50 percent and is expected to double by 20501 . Walkers are used as a temporary aid to encourage mobility after surgery or fracture, but they often become permanent aids2 . In the United States, about 12 percent of the elderly population use walkers1. Walkers are prescribed to reduce the load on lower limbs and/or to improve balance and stability. However, longer usage of walkers leads to low physical function and low self-confidence. Walker users typically have forward leaning posture due to load transfer from their lower limbs to their arms leading to low muscle activation in the trunk2 . The goal of this project is to develop a walker prototype with a flexible handle. We hypothesize that this will decrease arm loading leading to more upright posture, as well as challenging users to engage their trunk muscles more.