Impact of Functional Electrical Stimulation of Lower Limbs during Sitting Pivot Transfer Motion for Paraplegic People

Jovana Jović ,Philippe Fraisse,Sébastien Lengagne,Christine Azevedo‐Coste

doi:10.5772/51901

Abstract

Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), perform Sitting Pivot Transfer (SPT) motion around fifteen times a day using upper extremities. It can lead to upper limbs pain and often shoulder complications. In this paper, we investigate the influence of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) on SPT motion of a paraplegic person. First, we proposed to develop a dynamic optimization method in order to predict SPT motion of an able-bodied subject. This approach has been validated by comparing the computed SPT trajectories with the ones measured during the experiment with an able-bodied subject. Then, we used the optimization tool to analyze the influence of FES on the SPT maneuver of paraplegic persons. Our results suggest that FES can decrease arm participation during the transfer motion of a paraplegic person.

Highlights

Among all transfer activities, Sitting Pivot Transfer (SPT) is reported to be one of the most commonly used by individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Bromley (1998)
It can be observed that differences between the optimized Center of Mass (CoM) positions and the ones calculated from measured data in anterior‐posterior and vertical direction are not bigger than the variability among the different trials of the same subject
The results of this study indicate that it is possible to describe sitting pivot transfer of an able‐bodied subject within the frame of optimization theory

Summary

Introduction

SPT is reported to be one of the most commonly used by individuals with SCI Bromley (1998). When initiating SPT, paraplegic individuals move their wheelchair as close as possible to the target seat They move the buttocks forward close to the front edge of the wheelchair seat and, with the help of their arms, place firmly their feet on the floor. They place one hand, called the trailing hand, on a stable position on the wheelchair and the other hand, known as the leading hand, on the target surface far enough to leave sufficient space for the buttocks.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion