Comparison of the Symmetry of Buttock Pressure during Simulated Driving between Heathy Adults and Patients with Stroke

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Driving is an important activity that is affected by various motor and cognitive deficits after stroke. On the other hand, there is no standard screening tool to evaluate the sitting asymmetry during driving, which is the stereotyped postural characteristic observed in patients with stroke. Therefore, this study compared the buttock pressure during simulated driving between healthy adults and patients with stroke. METHODS: Ten post-stroke patients and ten healthy subjects participated in the experiment. The participants experienced simulated driving of 6.1 km during approximately 5 minutes for adaptation. The driving scenario consisted of 3.5 km urban traffic conditions, 10 km straight highway, and 7 km curved or hilly rural roads. Force sensitive application (FSA) was used to analyze the distribution of the buttock pressure on the driver's seat. The symmetry index (SI) was determined using the average buttock pressure of each side of the buttock. The closer SI is to zero, the higher the symmetry of buttock pressure. RESULTS: These studies showed that the SI of healthy subjects was significantly closer to zero than that of the stroke patients. CONCLUSION: The buttock pressure of the stroke patients showed more asymmetry than that of the healthy subjects during simulated driving. Therefore, a therapeutic approach is needed for symmetrical sitting to improve the driving performance.