Exercise Endurance and Functional Mobility Improve for Individuals with Physical Disabilities After Training on a Motorized Elliptical
By Yeseta, Marie; Taylor, Adam P.; Buster, Thad W.; Shu, Yu; Burnfield, Judith M.; RESNA Annual Conference - 2012,Publication Date: June 30 - July 2, 2012
Paper discusses utilization of the ICARE, an Intelligently Controlled Assistive Rehabilitation Elliptical, as an adjunct to outpatient physical therapy. The SportsArt Fitness E870 elliptical trainer is the platform for the ICARE. The system integrates an intelligently controlled motor providing assistance for continuous pedal motion. The stride length of the elliptical adjusts to accommodate various step lengths during training. Additional adaptations include safety rails, steps, a ramp, an adjustable height seat, a body weight support (BWS) system, and footplate straps. Through manipulation of the ICARE speed and BWS level, a person’s training program can be customized and progressed as needed. The system was tested with 6 women and 4 men aged 29 to 88 years receiving outpatient physical therapy at a rehabilitation hospital to address trunk or lower extremity movement deficits. In addition to attending scheduled physical therapy appointments, participants were asked to train on the ICARE two to three times per week for a total of 12 one-hour sessions. Training duration (DUR), rest periods, velocity (VEL), stride length (SL), total strides, and amount of BWS provided were recorded for each session as were heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and participants’ rate of perceived exertion (RPE). ICARE training parameters increased in intensity from early to late training phases with corresponding improvements in the group’s clinical measures of endurance and balance. Significant increases in DUR, VEL, SL, and total strides per session occurred without notable changes in RPEs, HR, and BP, indicating participants tolerated more demanding levels exercise at the end of the program.
Published by: Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) (Website:http://www.resna.org)
Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) (Web Site: http://www.resna.org )
Link to text: http://web.resna.org/conference/proceedings/2012/Other/ExerciseEnduranceandFunctionalMobilityImproveforIndividualswithPhysicalDisabilitiesAfterTrainingonaMotorizedElliptical.html
