Agricultural Seating Issues of Farmers and Ranchers with Spinal Cord Injuries: A Pilot Study Using Pressure Mapping on Seating Surface Interfaces to Determine High Risk Areas for Pressure
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Farmers and ranchers with spinal cord injuries (SCI) often return to operating agricultural machinery with the assistance of assistive technologies such as powered lifts and hand controls, however, little is known about the appropriate interventions related to seating supports within the tractor. The objective of the pilot study was to investigate whether different wheelchair cushions used on top of tractor seats are effective in ameliorating high risk pressuresfor farmers with spinal cord injuries.
The study used pressure mapping to compare pressure distributions, variance in pressure, and surface area (or immersion) in each of the study conditions when incorporating a low and mid-profile® ROHO® wheelchair cushions to the seating interface. Data was collected using the Xsensor® X3 PX200 pressure mapping system. Due to the limited number of participants, the power for statistical procedures was not met. However, tentative findings concluded that incorporating a ROHO® cushion on two different tractor seats, under static conditions, achieves lower overall average pressures, distributes pressure over a greater surface area, has lower pressures over bony prominences such as the ischial tuberosities, and a decreased number of sensors recording over a high risk threshold of 200 mmHg. The findings also support the need for future tractor seating studies under static and dynamic conditions, including consideration of body morphology, age, health/disability status, and types and designs of postural supports and constraints, their relative safety, and the materials from which seating supports are fabricated.
