2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Architectural Planning for Elderly Housing based on Low back Joint Moment Measurement.
| Project/Area Number |
15206067
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Town planning/Architectural planning
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| Research Institution | Waseda University |
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Principal Investigator |
WATANABE Hitoshi Waseda University, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Professor, 理工学術院, 教授 (40063804)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
YAMAMOTO Sumiko International University of Health and Welfare, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Professor, 福祉援助工学分野, 教授 (30302102)
KATSUHIRA Junji International University of Health and Welfare, The School of Health Science, Research Assistant, 保健学部, 助手 (00383117)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2006
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| Keywords | low back / load / Joint Moment / senior citizen / standing-up motion / storing motion / caregivers transferring motion / walking |
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| Research Abstract |
"Measurement of the low back joint moment of the daily life operation"
The first daily activity we measured was "standing-up motion supported by hands" It is a motion often made by senior citizen when standing up from a sitting position. Handrails were not used in this experiment, but furniture near a seated place was used to support one's weight. As a result, it was shown that the arrangement and the height of the furniture and the height of the seat are the determining parameters for load reduction. It was also found that reduction of the low back load can be made by simple changes in furniture arrangement.
The second activity we measured was "storing motion". The height of storage and the weight of luggage were changed to compare low back load under different conditions. In this experiment, it was found that the design of the storage furniture (especially, the design of the cross sectional shape) is an influential factor as well as the height and the depth of the storage furniture in
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relation to the low back load.
The third activity measured was "caregivers transferring motion". It has been known experientially that caregivers have a high risk of injuring low back when engaging in this activity. This motion refers to transferring a care receiver from a bed to a wheelchair in home care setting. Objective data is obtained to prove that transferring motion does have a significantly excessive load compared with the other motions of daily activities around the house. The relationships between the size of the home care room and the height of the bed and the caregiver's low back load were clarified. Implications for lightening psychological load of a caregiver were also inferred from this set of data.
It is necessary to assess these measured load values before applying them to architectural planning. However, causal relationship between the occurrence of low back pain and the value of low back joint moment is not medically proven so far. Therefore, we measured the low back load of "walking on flat surface and slope", "going up and down the stairs", and an exercise program for senior citizen, that is used as a movement prescription, and then compared these values with those of the other three motions. Finally, the benchmark for architectural planning guidelines was developed based on this data comparison. Less
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