Step and Distance Measurement From a Low-Cost Consumer-Based Hip and Wrist Activity Monitor: Protocol for a Validity and Reliability Assessment

Background

Self-tracking via wearable and mobile technologies is becoming an essential part of personal health management. At this point, however, little information is available to substantiate the validity and reliability of low-cost consumer-based hip and wrist activity monitors, with regard more specifically to the measurements of step counts and distance traveled while walking.

Objective

The aim of our study is to assess the validity and reliability of step and distance measurement from a low-cost consumer-based hip and wrist activity monitor specific in various walking conditions that are commonly encountered in daily life. Specifically, this study is designed to evaluate whether and to what extent validity and reliability could depend on the sensor placement on the human body and the walking task being performed.

Methods

Thirty healthy participants will be instructed to wear four PBN 2433 (Nakosite) activity monitors simultaneously, with one placed on each hip and each wrist. Participants will attend two experimental sessions separated by 1 week. During each experimental session, two separate studies will be performed. In study 1, participants will be instructed to complete a 2-minute walk test along a 30-meter indoor corridor under 3 walking speeds: very slow, slow, and usual speed. In study 2, participants will be required to complete the following 3 conditions performed at usual walking speed: walking on flat ground, upstairs, and downstairs. Activity monitor measured step count and distance values will be computed along with the actual step count (determined from video recordings) and distance (measured using a measuring tape) to determine validity and reliability for each activity monitor placement and each walking condition.

Results

Participant recruitment and data collection began in January 2020. As of June 2020, we enrolled 8 participants. Dissemination of study results in peer-reviewed journals is expected in spring 2021.

Conclusions

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that examines the validity and reliability of step and distance measurement during walking using the PBN 2433 (Nakosite) activity monitor. Results of this study will provide beneficial information on the effects of activity monitor placement, walking speed, and walking tasks on the validity and reliability of step and distance measurement. We believe such information is of utmost importance to general consumers, clinicians, and researchers.

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/21262

Comparison of life-behavior-promoting mobilization care with walking-only mobilization care in post-gastrointestinal surgery patients: A quasi-experimental study

AIM

This study evaluated the effects of a new form of mobilization care called life-behavior-promotion care by comparing its effectiveness with that of conventional mobilization care, which promotes only walking.

METHODS

This was a quasi-experimental study that non-randomly allocated post-gastrointestinal surgery patients from a surgical ward into two groups: conventional care and life-behavior-promotion care. The participants received their respective care from ward nurses for the first 3 postoperative days and were asked to wear a pedometer and answer a self-administered questionnaire concerning these first 3 days. In addition, time to recover gastrointestinal function, time to completion of oxygen administration, and the number of days to achieve discharge criteria were collected from medical records.

RESULTS

Overall, 23 participants in the conventional-care group and 19 in the life-behavior-promotion-care group were analyzed. The latter group performed significantly more types of out-of-bed life behaviors during the 3 postoperative days. Among the questionnaire items concerning awareness of recovery, an interaction between intervention and length of postoperative days was confirmed for items reading "I was interested in surrounding events" and "I could spend a day like myself." In addition, in the life-behavior-promotion-care group, time to completion of oxygen administration was significantly shorter, and it took fewer days to achieve discharge criteria.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study suggest that life-behavior-promotion care may promote out-of-bed life behaviors during the early postoperative period, and may improve mental and physical recovery in patients who have undergone gastrointestinal surgery.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

The study was registered in the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (trial ID: UMIN000021883).

Validity of activity monitors worn at multiple nontraditional locations under controlled and free-living conditions in young adult women

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of counting steps and computing indices of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) using miniature activity monitors with 3-D technology worn at various locations under controlled (CON) and free-living conditions (FL). Kenz e-style2, Tanita Calorism Smart, and Omron Calori Scan HJA-306 activity monitors were assessed. Nine and 31 young adult women were assigned to the CON and FL studies, respectively. While walking or jogging on a treadmill at 5 different speeds, the subjects simultaneously carried the 3 different monitors in a pants pocket (PP), a chest shirt pocket, and a shoulder bag (B). Under the FL condition, the 3 monitors were placed only at the PP and B locations for practical reasons. Significant effects of monitor location and walking/jogging speed on the step count measured by the 3 monitors were evaluated under the CON condition. Monitors placed at both PP and B tended to underestimate the number of steps; however, there were no significant differences between the values obtained with the Kenz monitor and those obtained with a criterion accelerometer under the FL condition. Moreover, strong correlations were observed between steps measured by monitors placed at PP and steps measured by the criterion accelerometer. The amount of MVPA for the PP location and the non-carrying duration of the bag for the B location were considered to be important determinants of the accuracy of step counting under the FL condition. In conclusion, monitors placed at the PP location, especially the Kenz monitor, showed acceptable accuracy for young adult women in real-life settings. In contrast, MVPA indices assessed using these monitors showed limited validity.

Massage therapy effects in a long-term prosthetic user with fibular hemimelia

BACKGROUND

Individuals with lower limb amputation (LLA) commonly experience low back pain (LBP). Although massage effects on LBP are well-documented, research regarding massage for individuals with LLA is scarce.

OBJECTIVES

This study evaluated the effectiveness of massage therapy to promote activity level, decrease LBP, and improve health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a long-term prosthetic user.

METHODS

The 50-day study consisted of two baseline sessions, seven treatment sessions that included a 50-min massage applied to major gait muscles, and two follow-up sessions. Pedometer-measured ambulatory activity level, visual analog scale-measured pain level, and RAND-36 Health Survey 1.0-determined HRQOL were assessed.

RESULTS

Pain level decreased, HRQOL increased, and no change occurred in ambulatory activity level.

CONCLUSION

For the participant, therapeutic massage intervention lead to successful LBP symptom management.

Steps per day: the road to senior health?

In older adults, as in younger individuals, habitual moderate-intensity physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of various chronic health conditions, including certain types of cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disease and certain forms of cancer. However, the pattern of physical activity associated with such benefits remains unclear. One problem is that most investigators have examined patterns of physical activity using either subjective questionnaires or accelerometer or pedometer measurements limited to a single week, despite clear evidence of both the unreliability/invalidity of questionnaires and seasonal changes in activity patterns. Since 2000, we have thus conducted an interdisciplinary study examining the habitual physical activity and health of elderly people living in a medium-sized Japanese town (the Nakanojo Study). In about one-tenth of some 5000 available subjects aged > or =65 years, physical activity has already been assessed continuously for 24 h/day for >8 years using a specially adapted pedometer/accelerometer. This device has a storage capacity of 36 days and can distinguish >10 intensities of physical activity (expressed in metabolic equivalents [METs]). Data have to date been summarized as daily step counts and daily durations of activity of <3 and >3 METs, averaged over a 1-year period. This article provides a detailed overview of both factors influencing habitual physical activity and relationships between such activity and health in an elderly population. To date, analyses have been cross-sectional in type. Substantial associations have been noted between the overall health of participants and both the daily duration of effort undertaken at an intensity of >3 METs and the daily step count. In men, the extent of health is associated more closely with the daily duration of activity of >3 METs than with the daily step count, whereas in women, the association is closer for the step count than for the duration of activity >3 METs. In both sexes, the threshold amount of physical activity associated with better health is greater for physical than for mental benefits: >8000 versus >4000 steps/day and/or >20 versus >5 min/day at an intensity >3 METs, respectively. In other words, better physical health is seen in those spending at least 20 min/day in moderate walking (at a pace of around 1.4 m/s [5 km/h]) and a further >60 min of light activity per day. In contrast, better mental health is associated with much smaller amounts of deliberate physical activity. The daily step count and the daily durations of activity of <3 and >3 METs are all influenced by meteorological factors, particularly precipitation and mean ambient temperature. Activity decreases exponentially to about 4000 steps/day as precipitation increases. Excluding the influence of rainfall, the daily step count peaks at a mean outdoor temperature of around 17 degrees C; above and especially below such readings, physical activity decreases as a quadratic function of temperature. Seasonal changes in microclimate should thus be considered when designing interventions intended to increase the habitual physical activity of elderly people. The observed associations between physical activity and health outcomes point to a need for longitudinal analyses; these should examine potential causal interpretations of the current findings and elucidate possible additional mediating variables.