Abstract
Gardening has been recognized as a physical activity that increases well-being and health benefits among adults with and without mental disabilities. The aim of this study was to quantify trunk movements and conduct motion analysis of adult with （case group, n=6） and without （control group, n=7） mental disabilities while performing six gardening tasks of varying levels of intensity. A wireless tri-axial accelerometer was used to continuously measure, monitor, and record motion acceleration during the tasks. Results showed that the pattern of mean dynamic acceleration （MAD） differed between the case and control groups and between tasks over time. The case group showed significantly lower trunk movement （lower MAD values） in the high-intensity trunk movement tasks, such as digging, compared with the control group. In the low-intensity trunk movement tasks, such as seed sowing, the case group had higher MAD values compared with the control group, but not significantly different. In high-intensity trunk movement tasks, such as digging and turning over soil, the control group performed at a faster rate and showed a more harmonic pattern （3 s/cycle） compared with the case group （4 s/cycle）. The case and control groups may have responded differently to motion because of their habitual physical activity. The characteristics of movement during gardening tasks in adults with and without mental disabilities reported in this study could form the basis for selection data for gardening program development.
