American Society of Engineering Education - North Central Section Spring Conference 2018

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Improved Recumbent Stationary Bicycle for Aquatic Therapy

Improved Recumbent Stationary Bicycle for Aquatic Therapy

Fibromyalgia (FM) can affect up to 6.4% of the population and Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can affect another 1% in the United States. Those affected deal daily with widespread pain, stiffness and fatigue. Regular exercise with a group has been shown to improve the overall physical and mental health of participants with FM. Exercise can also benefit those with RA by improving muscular function. So the problem is, how these people can exercise without worsening their condition or feeling excessive pain. A solution is exercising in a temperate pool. The warm water and buoyancy reduces the feeling of stiffness and load on joints allowing people to move and exercise with reduced pain.

Cycling is already a low impact, high intensity exercise recommended to those with joint pain. Now add to it the benefits of being in a warm pool and you have an excellent high intensity workout for those with RA and FM. Aquatic stationary bikes have already been invented and sold around the world. The specific problem we seek to address is improving the design using input from local consumers.

Our design will attempt to achieve three main goals: 1) provide a more effective, comfortable, safe recumbent water bike, 2) allow the users to access a larger range of resistances, and 3) keep the cost of the bike low. The first goal will be achieved by providing comfortable materials and safety measures so that the users can focus on the task in front of them. The second goal will be achieved by providing a type of resistance that would give a larger range so that users can continue their rehabilitation on the bike as they get strong. The last goal will be achieved through careful research on frame, seating and resistance materials, so that the cost for the user will still be low.

Zane Brown
Muskingum University
United States

Zyler Flowers
Muskingum University
United States

Staci Wilson
Muskingum University
United States

Yuxin Zhang
Muskingum University
United States

 

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