EFFECTS OF SEAT POSITION ON THE JOINT MOMENTS OF THE LOWER EXTREMITIES DURING CYCLING IN THE ELDERLY

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to quantify the joint moments of the lower extremities with different seat positions during cycling in elderly. Fifteen older adults performed cycling on a self-developed bicycle ergometer at three horizontal and three vertical seat positions. The pedals were instrumented with six-component load cells to measure pedal reaction forces; and a motion capture system was used to measure body segment kinematic data. Both data sets were used to calculate joint moments during a crank cycle. The results showed that seat positions affected joint moments significantly, especially the horizontal positions. A more posterior seat position led to a more balanced loading at the hip and knee, with less peak muscle loadings. The results will be helpful for cycle design and fitting for the elderly.