Tilted seat position for non-ambulant individuals with neurological and neuromuscular impairment: a systematic review.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the effects of tilt-in-space seating on outcomes for people with neurological or neuromuscular impairment who cannot walk.


METHODS
Search through electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, AMED). Discussions with researchers who are active in field.


METHODS
Selection criteria included interventional studies that investigated the effects of seat tilt on outcome or observational studies that identified outcomes for those who had used tilt-in-space seating in populations with neurological or neuromuscular impairments. Two reviewers independently selected trials for inclusion, assessed quality and extracted data.


RESULTS
Nineteen studies were identified which fulfilled the selection criteria. Seventeen of these were essentially before-after studies investigating the immediate effects of tilting the seating. All studies looked at populations with neurological impairment, and most were on children with cerebral palsy (n=8) or adults with spinal cord injury (n=8). REVIEWER'S CONCLUSION: Posterior tilt can reduce pressures at the interface under the pelvis.
Medical Physics and Engineering, Leeds University Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK. smm@medphysics.leeds.ac.uk
S M
SM
Michael
D
D
Porter
T E
TE
Pountney
D006804:Ergonomics; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D009949:Orientation; D010243:Paralysis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010388:Pelvis; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011187:Posture; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000517:prevention & control; D014910:Wheelchairs