Evaluation of Sheepskin Sitting Pad in Pressure Relieving

This study aimed at quantitatively evaluating the effectiveness of sheepskin sitting pad (SSP) in pressure relief in the wheelchair. Eighteen students were recruited from the university and those subjects with Body Mass Index (BMI) over 24.5 and with a history of back pain were excluded. Participants were guided to sit in a wheelchair, where contact pressure with and without SSP was measured by sitting pad pressure measurement. Four masks model was developed (total region, left, right and central buttock) and under each region peak pressure (mmHg) (PP), mean pressure (MP) and contact area (cm2) (CA) were calculated. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks and reliability analysis were used for statistical analysis with a significant level of 0.05. Our results show that, with the assistance of SSP, CA at each area was improved, but those findings were not significantly recorded; further, mean MP was significantly reduced by 15.8 mmHg and the decrease of PP was less significant than that of MP. Most of our outcomes were approved to be reliable and repeatable. Overall, sheepskin sitting pad could significantly increase the contact area and reduce the intensity of pressure concentration; further, most of our outcomes were reliable and repeatable. Hence, sheepskin sitting pad is a useful pressure relieving product.