In this study the following hypotheses will be tested: Electrical stimulation of the gluteal muscle (buttocks) leads to 1. an increase in the thickness of the gluteal muscle 2. a decrease in the thickness of the fat of the buttock area 3. a change in the distribution of the middle and maximal seating pressure to a more consistent pressure 4. an increase in well-being of the patients.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
5
Swiss Paraplegic Centre
Nottwil, Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland
Magnetic Resonance Imaging to determine the thickness of the gluteal muscle and fat tissue of the buttock.
Time frame: 45 min.
Measuring of the seating pressure to determine the distribution of the middle and maximal seating pressure
Time frame: 15 min.
Questionnaire on subjective wellbeing
The subjective effect of the electric stimulation will be assessed by an 5-item-questionnaire. Since no standardised questionnaire is available to assess the well-being in relation to sitting in a wheelchair, an individual non-validated questionnaire has been developed. It contains five questions: Question 1 and 2 address the number of resting phases while lying down and the respective overall duration of decompression each day. The questions 3 to 5 focus on the fear of pressure sores while sitting, every day limitations based on decompression phases and the subjective well-being while sitting in a wheelchair. The subjects answer the questions using a visual analog scale of 10 cm, indicating 0=no fear/no impairment/no well-being; 10=high fear/high impairment/high well-being. The subjects complete the questionnaire at baseline (start of intervention), after three and after six months.
Time frame: 10 min.
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