Effect of an improved seat cover on back-support for reducing shear force applied to the buttocks when back-support is reclined

Abstract

The authors developed an improved seat cover to mount on the back support of a wheelchair to decrease the shear force applied to the buttocks while reclining. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the seat cover. The participants included 14 healthy persons. A force plate was used to measure the shear force. The experimental conditions were three ; the improved seat cover, original, and control conditions. The result of this study showed that the shear force for the improved seat cover condition was significantly lower than for the other two conditions during the return of a fully reclined back support position to the upright position (p<0.01). This result suggested that the improved seat cover could better decrease the shear force applied to the buttocks while the back support was reclined.