Abstract
A new type of passive exercise training equipment has been developed that allows persons with knee joint osteoarthritis and NIDDM (non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus) to participate in exercise training. The idea of “passive exercise training” was applied to equipment so that trainees are induced to exercise caused by physical stimulation without voluntary effort. The apparatus is equipped with a seat, and in order to induce muscle contraction in the leg by utilizing the user's own weight, the seat can be alternately inclined toward the user's knee joints of each leg so that the user's center of gravity moves from around his/her hip to his/her foot. In addition, the apparatus has foot-plates on which the user's foot is placed. In order to cope with knee joint pain, the height of the foot-plates canbe automatically controlled to keep the angle of the user's knee joint. By conducting a laboratory experiment using near infrared spectroscopy, it was indicated that the muscle oxygenation in the femur was promoted and that knee joint pain was less than that experienced walking on a flat surface as determined from a subjective evaluation by persons with knee joint osteoarthritis.
