Abstract
Segways offer elderly users an opportunity to increase their mobility range and may also be useful as a training device. As of yet, very little is known about muscular activity during Segway use. Hence, the aim of this pilot study was to investigate the muscular strain during the use of Segways. For this purpose, 15 study participants were equipped with EMG measuring devices on rectus femoris, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior and biceps brachii of the right half of the body. Following maximum strength tests, the participants completed a defined course once on foot and three times on a Segway. The averaged EMG data during walking and Segway use were compared. The results show that the use of Segways leads to muscle activity. No statistically significant differences were found between the average muscular strain of the lower body muscles caused by walking and using a Segway. The systematic use of Segways may be an attractive option for the development of physical training programs to prevent falls.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
World Health Organization. Global age-friendly cities: a guide, Geneva, Switzerland (2007)
Sawatzky, B., Denison, I., Tawashy, A.: The Segway for people with disabilities: meeting clients’ mobility goals. Am. J. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 88(6), 484–490 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1097/PHM.0b013e3181909ef9
Jiménez, D., de La Fuente, Y., Hernández-Galán, J.: Diversity of “pedestrians on wheels”, new challenges for cities in 21st century. Stud. Health Technol. Inform. 256, 357–366 (2018)
Boutilier, G., Sawatzky, B.J.: The Segway personal transport as an alternative mobility device for people with disabilities: physiologic benefits? In: Rehabilitation: Mobility, Exercise, and Sports: 4th International State-of-Art Congress. IOS Press (2010)
Shaheen, S.A., Finson, R.: Bridging the last mile: a study of the behavioral, institutional, and economic potential of the Segway human transporter. Transportation Research Board, 03–4470 (2003)
Oxley, J., Whelan, M.: It cannot be all about safety: the benefits of prolonged mobility. Traffic Inj. Prev. 9(4), 367–378 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1080/15389580801895285
Rahman, K.A., Azaman, A., Mohd Latip, H.F., Mat Dzahir, M.A., Balakrishnan, M.: Comparison of tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscles activation on balance training devices and hoverboard. Malays. J. Fundam. Appl. Sci. 13(4–2), 495–500 (2017). https://doi.org/10.11113/mjfas.v13n4-2.820
Dias de Brito, C.M., Pinheiro Neto Jacob, J.T., Nóbrega, R., Nogueira Santos, A.M.: Balance assessment in fall-prevention exergames. In: Yesilada, Y., Bigham, J.P. (eds.) Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility - ASSETS 2015, pp. 439–440. ACM Press, New York (2015)
Marigold, D.S., Eng, J.J., Dawson, A.S., Inglis, J.T., Harris, J.E., Gylfadóttir, S.: Exercise leads to faster postural reflexes, improved balance and mobility, and fewer falls in older persons with chronic stroke. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 53(3), 416–423 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53158.x
Pourmand, A., Liao, J., Pines, J.M., Mazer-Amirshahi, M.: Segway® personal transporter-related injuries: a systematic literature review and implications for acute and emergency care. J. Emerg. Med. 54(5), 630–635 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2017.12.019
Boccia, G., Dardanello, D., Rosso, V., Pizzigalli, L., Rainoldi, A.: The application of sEMG in aging: a mini review. Gerontology 61(5), 477–484 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1159/000368655
Konrad, P. (ed.): The ABC of EMG. A Practical Introduction to Kinesiological Electromyography, version 1.4 (2006)
Hermens, H.J.: SENIAM. In: European Recommendations for Surface Electromyography: Results of the SENIAM Project, 2nd edn. Roessingh Research and Development, Pays-Bas (1999)
Rohmert, W.: Untersuchungen über Muskelermüdung und Arbeitsgestaltung; Schriftenreihe Arbeitswissenschaft und Praxis, Beuth-Vertrieb (1967)
Böcker, L., van Amen, P., Helbich, M.: Elderly travel frequencies and transport mode choices in Greater Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Transportation 44(4), 831–852 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-016-9680-z
Acknowledgements
This study was conducted as part of the Undergraduate Research-Opportunity Program at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, in collaboration with the University of Alberta, Canada. This publication is part of the research project ‘TECH4AGE’, financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, under Grant No. 16SV7111) and promoted by VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH. For more details and information, please see www.tech4age.de.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Berti, Z. et al. (2020). Driving Segway: A Musculoskeletal Investigation. In: Stanton, N. (eds) Advances in Human Factors of Transportation. AHFE 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 964. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20503-4_53
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20503-4_53
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-20502-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-20503-4
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)