Relationships between the Foot Placement of the Care Assistant and the Force Required to Help a Person Who Needs Transfer Assistance to Stand

Abstract

: [Purpose] To clarify the foot position of care assistants (carers) which is effective at generating force for assisting persons who have difficulty with standing up due to limited hip flexion (care subjects). [Subjects] Sixteen male university students with experience of care transfers acted as carers, and one healthy adult male acted as the care subject. [Methods] Using a force plate and force shoes, the load on the lower limbs of the care subject at the time his buttocks left the seat was compared between carers with their feet positioned apart anteroposteriorly (APfeet), and mediolaterally (MLfeet). [Results] The load on the lower limbs when the care subject’s buttocks left the seat, was significantly greater in the APfeet position than in the MLfeet position. [Conclusion] The results suggest there is a possibility that placing carers’ feet in the APfeet position promotes an increase in the load on care subjects’ lower limbs when their buttocks leave the seat.