Handle-ability Improvements of Rehabilitation Walker Which Can Facilitate Spinal Rotation

Abstract

It is severe problem that population ratio of elderly people is increasing in Japan. The walker is useful for walking assistance and rehabilitation, however, conventional walkers can’t move its handle so that movement of trainee’s spine is restricted and trainee’s trunk becomes falling forward. T herefore, we have been developing a walker which has novel mechanism. Handle of this new walker is movable so that training with the walker can facilitate trainee’s natural spinal rotation. In this paper, we describe mechanical improvements of the walker to secure sufficient handle-ability in rehabilitation.