Avaliação da oscilação corporal e marcha de idosos com a utilização de um andador com suporte de tronco desenvolvido na UTFPR

Abstract

Introduction: Postural instability is one of the causes of disability in the elderly and the use of walkers is one of the strategies to generate greater stability and safety in the maintenance of orthostatic posture and gait. There are currently walkers considered to be specials because they have braces and support systems or offer partial support of the body. Despite the benefits of using these walkers, they are very expensive. In order to present an alternative of quality and low cost, a walker with trunk support was developed, made of PVC. The trunk support attached to the walker is intended to support the weight of the user in the event of a fall. Objective: To evaluate the influence of the use of the walker with trunk support on body sway and gait of the elderly with postural instability. Method: Tests were carried out to analyze the mechanical resistance of the material used as well as the structure of the walker. PVC has proven to be a material with high resistance when submitted to flexion and impact tests. The maximum mass supported by the walker in the test was approximately 226 kg. After testing the equipment, 9 elderly with postural instability were submitted to evaluation of the body sway or stabilometry, and 3 elderly to gait analysis, with and without the use of the walker developed. Results: Using the walker there was a decrease of body sway in all elderly participants. Without the use of the equipment the stabilometry average value was 10,297 cm² and when using the walker it was 3.264 cm². In the evaluation of gait analysis with accelerometer sensors located at the hip joint, without the walker the elderly had greater hip extension and lower hip flexion and, with the walker the results had inverted values. For that, the average flexion on the right hip rose from 15.33° to 20.67° and the extension decreased from 10° to 7.33°. The time needed to finish a course of 12 meters was higher using the walker. The results point to an improvement in stability and balance for the elderly using the walker. The gait analysis demonstrated a reorganization of the length of the stride but without a significant change.