Effects of the wheelchair sitting posture on gluteal pressure.
Tadahiko Kamegaya
PMID 39239422WHAT IT FOUND
Leaning forward against a table while sitting in a wheelchair lowered maximum gluteal pressure compared to upright sitting.
Placing feet on the floor instead of the footrest lowered pressure further and increased contact area. These findings come from healthy young adults, not older wheelchair users.
Key findings
01Maximum gluteal pressure was significantly lower in the forward-tilting postures than in the basic upright sitting posture.
02Placing feet on the floor while leaning forward against a table resulted in significantly lower maximum gluteal pressure and a significantly larger gluteal contact area than keeping feet on the footrest.
03The study was conducted on healthy adults, so the findings cannot be generalized to older adults in wheelchairs.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted on healthy young adults (mean age 21 years), not the older, frail, or immobile individuals who are at risk for pressure ulcers. The findings cannot be generalized to older adults in wheelchairs. The study measured only peak pressure and contact area, not the detailed pressure distribution across the buttocks. Only leg length was measured as a physical characteristic, limiting the generalizability of the findings to people with different body types.
Declared interests
Funded by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research in Japan. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this posture change prevents pressure ulcers. The study measured short-term pressure changes in healthy young adults, not ulcer incidence in older wheelchair users.