Sitting Pressure Report

LipoWear LW 12-01 Report

Evaluation of SitRelief Shorts and Soft Tissue Loading Pressure Under Bony Prominences- Preliminary Assessment

Joe A. Bollert, PhD, and Brad White

Background

SitRelief Shorts, a medically designed padded undergarment for patients with sitting pain, has been on the market for 2 years.

A previous clinical trial in lipoatrophy patients and hundreds of comments from customers have documented the efficacy of SitRelief Shorts in reducing and often eliminating sitting pain for a variety of medical conditions.

Technology advances in pressure sensing devices allow for the measurement of soft tissue loading under bony prominences.

Product Testing

SitRelief Shorts were evaluated using an XSENSOR Model X3 Pressure Imaging System provided by XSENSOR Technology Corporation. The X3 pressure imaging system allows clinicians to quickly identify a patient’s pressure distribution and reduce potential pressure ulcers in immobile or restricted mobility patients. The X3 systems provides and dynamic evaluation and maps the pressure distribution thru a specially designed seat sensor pad, software and image display device (www.xsensor.com).

The pressure maps generated identify and measures the sitting pressure in areas of peak pressure, such as under the ischial tuberosities (bottom of the pelvis), as well as average pressure over the entire sitting area.

Study Design

In a preliminary assessment, an adult with lipoatrophy and sitting pain was evaluated sitting on a standard office chair with and without SitRelief Shorts (SRS).

Results 

PRESSURE MAP WITHOUT SHORTS

PRESSURE MAP WITH SHORTS

The location of the peak pressure and ischial tuberosities is clearly visible in the image without the shorts signified by the yellow/red of the pressure map. With the shorts, the peak pressure is dramatically reduced.

The following pressure reading were determined:

These results indicate that SitRelief Shorts reduced the average sitting pressure over 50% for the whole sitting area. The pressure was reduced a dramatic 72% under the ischial bones, the area of peak pressure.

Discussion

The pressure mapping evaluation correlates nicely with the increased sitting comfort seen in the earlier clinical trial. In that study of 24 men with lipoatrophy and sitting pain, there was a statistically significant increase in sitting comfort. At baseline, subjects were able to sit comfortably for an average of 12 minutes without pain. At the conclusion of the study and using SitRelief Shorts, average comfortable sitting time had increased to three hours.

Change in Average Length of Sitting Comfort Time (previous study)

Conclusion 

Pressure mapping provides a quantifiable evaluation of sitting pressure for patients with sitting pain. SitRelief Shorts dramatically reduce sitting pressure and improve sitting pain comfort.

Author Affiliations

Joe A. Bollert, PhD is a cofounder of LipoWear LLC, the maker of SitRelief Shorts.

Brad White, Brewis Group, manufacturer’s representative for XSENSOR.