Background: People may use a wheelchair when they need assistance with mobility.
Some users have to remain seated in their wheelchair for most of their awake
time and for a lot of activities. The need for a well fitted and supportive
wheelchair is important and, for those who use the wheelchair for many hours,
peak pressure distribution is of interest to prevent pressure ulcers and
discomfort. Aim: To describe how high local peak pressures may be
distributed over risk areas for pressure ulcers in different wheelchair
settings. Methods: Two groups of healthy adults were recruited (40
elderly and 30 younger individuals). Two standard models of manual wheelchairs were
used together with two types of wheelchair cushions. Results: The
elderly group had a higher peak pressure over the ischial tuberosity and
increased posterior pelvic rotation in the shaped seat cushion. Both groups had
higher peak pressure over the trochanter in the shaped seat cushion. Peak
pressure was also higher over the coccyx for the elderly in the shaped seat
cushion compared with the plain cushion; this was lower for the younger group. Discussion: The results indicate that age might influence the
important physical prerequisites when fitting a wheelchair to an
individual.
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