title: Sliding and pressure evaluation on conventional and V-shaped seats of reclining wheelchairs for stroke patients with flaccid hemiplegia: a crossover trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Reclining wheelchairs are commonly used to transport elderly stroke patients in Taiwan. However, there is concern that the patient's body in the wheelchair often slides forward when they return to a seated position, increasing the sitting pressure. Therefore, a novel reclining wheelchair with an ergonomic "V-Seat" was designed to prevent forward sliding and pressure sores. The use of these reclining chairs by stroke patients has not yet been studied. Thus, we investigated the effects of V-shaped and conventional seats in reclining wheelchairs on the extent of forward sliding and on the sitting pressure of stroke patients with flaccid hemiplegia and of able-bodied elders.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 13 able-bodied elders and 11 stroke patients with flaccid hemiplegia and performed 5 reclining cycles in both types of wheelchair. The amount of sliding along the backrest (BS) plane and the seat (SS) plane, the mean sitting pressure (MP), and the sacral peak pressure (SPP) of the subjects were recorded. We used the Wilcoxon signed-rank test to compare the BS, SS, MP, and SPP in wheelchairs with conventional and V-shaped seats, and we used the Wilcoxon rank sum test to compare the differences in BS and SS between stroke patients and able-bodied elders in both types of reclining wheelchair.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The BS, SS, and SPP of stroke patients were significantly lower in the wheelchairs with V-shaped seats than in conventional wheelchairs in most comparisons; however, the BS of able-bodied elders was higher in V-shaped seats than in conventional seats. The SS and SPP of stroke patients were significantly higher than those of able-bodied elders in both types of reclining wheelchair, and the BS of stroke patients was significantly higher than that of able-bodied elders only in conventional reclining wheelchairs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of V-shaped seats in reclining wheelchairs can help reduce the forward sliding and sacral peak pressure of stroke patients with flaccid hemiplegia. The back displacement of able-bodied subjects when using both conventional and V-shape seats in reclining positions differs from the back displacement of stroke patients with flaccid hemiplegia when using such seats. These results are of paramount value and should be considered when prescribing the use of reclining wheelchairs to subjects with flaccid hemiplegia.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiu-Chen
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Cheng-Hsin
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Chi-Myn
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yu-Sheng
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Kao-Chi
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004867:Equipment Design; D006804:Ergonomics; D005260:Female; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000517:prevention & control*; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications*; D013624:Taiwan; D014910:Wheelchairs