로봇기반 승마 시뮬레이터가 노인의 유산소성 운동과 심리적 요인에 미치는 영향

[PURPOSE] Horse riding simulator has been developed as a substitute of horse-back riding to compensate poor accessibility and economic feasibility. The effects of a horse riding simulator for young adults have been investigated. However, it has been little known about the psychological and physiological benefits of exercise using a horse riding simulator for the elderly compared with young adults. The purpose of this study was to analyze changes of perceived psychological factors and energy expenditure in young adults and the elderly during riding a horse riding simulator producing similar gait patterns of the horse such as walk, slow trot, and fast trot. [METHODS] The participants were eighteen adults(age: 26.4±4.2yrs, height: 168.9±9.2cm, weight: 63.4±10.8kg) and seventeen elderly people(age: 68.8±5.5yrs, height: 160.8±8.4cm, weight: 65.0±10.1kg). We measured perceived task enjoyment and difficulty, oxygen uptake, and energy expenditure using VAS and pulmonary gas exchange measurement with respect to gait pattern and age difference. The participants rode the simulator in 15 minutes for each gait pattern, respectively. The participants were asked to mark perceived task enjoyment and difficulty by themselves on the 10cm-line after each gait pattern. We analyzed using the last 10 minutes of gas analysis data for oxygen uptake and MET. [RESULTS] There were significant differences on perceived task enjoyment and difficulty, oxygen uptake, and energy expenditure among gait patterns. There were statistically significant difference in perceived task enjoyment between walk and fast trot(p