Salud Colombia , Valle del Cauca, Lunes, 15 de junio de 2015 a las 10:45

Exercise machine helps physical rehab

In the project they included springs of different sizes and strengths such as stretching straps so users may perform movements that will help them achieve resistance and strength in their upper limbs and mid body

UN/DICYT  With a single exercise machine designed by UNal-Palmira students, disabled people may carry out several physical rehab exercises.

 

The machine, named Shot-Bam is a multiple-purpose exercise apparatus devised for disabled people by Industrial Design students Eleonora Millán and María Camila Gómez.

 

In the project they included springs of different sizes and strengths such as stretching straps so users may perform movements that will help them achieve resistance and strength in their upper limbs and mid body, a necessary therapy to achieve better mobility.

 

The concept behind the exercise machine was bamboo, a plant which thrives despite adverse conditions and represents strength, vitality, patience, perseverance and above all greatness; qualities every person who begins physical therapy should embrace. The machine helps strengthen different muscle groups such as biceps, triceps and the abdomen, among others.

 

The mechanism integrates several exercises in a single device with the purpose of making it more functional and enables improved mobility for disabled people. Most gyms have several large machines which take up large areas. These areas may be otherwise used to allow better mobility for people with disabilities. Therefore these students proposed a more accessible and functional design.

 

This exercise machine is an essential assistance for rehab centers where physical therapists can optimize these kinds of therapies as they need to coordinate and lead the exercises.

 

The Shot-bam has infographics to guide people in using the rehab machine. There are located on the cabinet doors where physical therapists store the elements necessary for therapy sessions.

 

The machine may also be used by people who may want to simply strengthen and achieve muscle tone. Therefore the Shot-Bam is useful both for the disabled as for people who just want to be in shape.

 

The design process took a full year, time in which the students diagnosed the need and then made drawings and computer renderings, which resulted in two simulators. Later they performed tests with a prototype with several disabled people at the Municipal Institute of Sports and Recreation of Palmira.

 

The project is part of the Human Factor Area of the Department of Industrial “Ergonomic and Sustainability Research Group”.