Nowadays, wheelchairs can be cheap to purchase and are widely available, so choosing a wheelchair can be confusing. Some people will have been prescribed a specific sort of wheelchair by an Occupational Therapist whilst others might want a wheelchair for when an elderly relative comes to stay.
Somebody using the wheelchair independently will require a self propelling (large wheels) model they push themselves. A self propelled, or transit wheelchair (smaller wheels) will be appropriate if the wheelchair will be pushed by an attendant.
A folding wheelchair is a good choice for occasional use as they can easily be dismantled, folded and transported by car. The rear wheels will usually come off, and the back might fold down to save space. These wheelchairs are ideal for those going out for the day in the car, or perhaps for someone who can’t walk as far as they once could, but maybe don’t need to be in a wheelchair all the time. A dedicated motor can be purchased to turn the manual wheelchair into an attendant controlled powerchair making hills much less of a problem. If you are looking at a wheelchair for occasional use, the lighter it is, the easier it will be to dismantle and put in a car boot. As a very rough guide, folding wheelchairs weigh around 33-44lbs / 15-20Kg, which doesn’t sound too heavy, but remember that somebody will be pushing wheelchair, and perhaps getting it in and out of the car.
Folding wheelchairs are available in various sizes, but often do not offer the specialised features that a prescribed wheelchair can offer. For others, the wheelchair will be used more often, perhaps all day, at work, or indoors, for example. For this sort of wheelchair user, the comfort and manoeuvrability is likely to be much more important than how much the wheelchair costs. These wheelchairs are less likely to be folding models, as the performance and weight of the wheelchair is more important than whether it folds. These rigid, self propelled wheelchairs combine a lighter frame and wheels. They might have a more specialised back, seat cushion, foot rests and arm rests.
Wheelchair users who lead an active lifestyle, which might include playing sports such as tennis and basketball as well as driving and day to day living, will require a different sort of wheel chair again. These users are likely to move away from a cumbersome folding wheelchair, to one that is very lightweight, smaller and stronger than a traditional wheelchair. A sport wheelchair might even be constructed from titanium which is stronger and lighter than aluminium. It probably won’t have traditional style foot rests, as these will be incorporated into the frame. It might not have arm rests or handles, as it won’t need to be pushed. It is also likely to have customisable front and rear wheels so that the user has the most appropriate wheels and tyres for their needs. The wheels on some rigid wheelchairs can be pushed inwards so that they lean towards the user to provide more responsiveness. The highly adjustable and customisable nature of these wheelchairs means that the user might only needs one wheelchair for all activities – day to day living and sports. These lightweight chairs are easy to put in a car, and the wheelchair user can put their wheelchair in the car from the driver’s seat. This means that they don’t have to rely on others, and can maintain their independence. These very lightweight wheelchairs are utilising a lot of technology and techniques from mountain bike manufacturers. Indeed, some of these rigid wheelchairs resemble a mountain bike more than a traditional wheelchair, and depending on the model and specifications may only weigh 15-17lbs / 8Kg.
The efficiency of a wheelchair can be measured easily in a non-scientific way. The user can simply see how far they move in a given wheelchair, on a given surface in just one push. Because of the number of joints, and weight of the steel of aluminium, a folding wheelchair loses a lot of energy, so a folding wheelchair won’t move as far as a rigid wheelchair per push. A titanium sport wheelchair weighs roughly a third of the weight of a standard steel folding wheelchair, and so will move much further per push. This is an important consideration when choosing a wheelchair.
The process of choosing a wheelchair can be complicated. The wheelchair manufacturers make this easier by providing a prescription form for some models. This is a step by step method of choosing the right wheelchair, based on the user’s condition, daily activities and any other special requirements. Depending on the complexity of the user’s requirements, the wheelchair manufacturer may offer the service of a trained expert to help with the prescription. All sorts of situations are considered from whether the user needs to cross roads, to the size and width of the front castors.
Whatever style of wheelchair you choose, a wheelchair cushion will be recommended; this improves posture, comfort and can help to prevent pressure sores.
If you require assistance in choosing your wheelchair, why not let an experienced mobility dealer guide you into making the right choice.

For more information about wheelchairs, please visit www.scootamart.com

Choosing the Right Equipment Is Essential

The correct equipment will make a big difference to a disabled person in helping him or her to live independently in the home. Before buying a disabled stairlift, the disabled person is well advised to get advice from a specialist and to try out the equipment before purchasing it. It is essential to purchase what is right for the disabled person and that too, at the right price. Often, due to ill-health, old age or disability one is unable to ascend or descend stairs and will thus require a disabled stairlift that should give back the freedom of access to a disabled person. This may necessitate purchasing the disabled stairlift from a specialist firm and solution provider, and obtaining impartial advice should help decide on which type of disabled stairlift is most suitable.

Some of the desired features of a disabled stairlift include unique fire response system, call stations, generous vision panels, in-car lowering, in-car telephone and over speed governors. There will also be need for special grab handles and special controls that will provide additional safety features for the disabled persons.

There are special disabled stairlifts made that can be used with wheelchairs and are designed for safety, flexibility as well as independence, and with advanced design features, one can get even more benefits. There are different modes that can take seated, standard as well as large wheelchairs up to three meters in height and even three and a half meters up. With free-standing tracks, there is no need of a load-bearing wall and so allows greater choice in where to locate the disabled stairlift. It would also have fixed internal ramp that provides a gentle incline and makes accessibility easier. The car does not take much room and allows for increased space outside the lift for maneuvering a wheelchair.

The disabled stairlifts may also have multi-handed doors and controls that can be fitted to either left or right, and with clever designing, it is possible to even change both controls and doors from left to right and vice versa. To provide the disabled person with even more independence, there can also be provision for powered doors, which is mostly an optional feature. Valuable information on stair lifts can be found at http://www.assist.servicefeeds.com/

Service Feeds is a web based resource database of information. www.servicefeeds.com

Choosing the Right Wheelchairs And Mobility Equipment
By: Macharia Kamau
The Wheelchair and Mobility equipment industry, like all others, experiences
the same phenomena of consumerism including choice, independence, competition, variety etc.
People with various handicaps need to/ would want to make decisions, and of course informed decisions on the type of wheelchair they buy. Access to reliable information on wheelchairs and mobility equipment is in many cases not readily available unless one has access to a reliable provider of the information or therapist. Of major concern in the choice of wheelchair/seating equipment is the level of disability and dependence/independence.
Other limiting factors in choosing the right wheelchair is cost. Wheelchairs and mobility/seating equipment can be quite expensive and may sometimes require arrangement with third party players (e.g. donors, life insurance providers, Medicare providers, family etc) who may feature quite prominently in its acquisition. The implication is that the equipment purchased must meet the minimum requisite for the particular person/purpose. This is because third party players may not be available for recourse if the equipment purchased is not befitting the purpose or need of the intended owner(s).
People needing rehabilitation equipment such as wheelchairs will therefore require to consult widely and gather as much information from the market as possible on what is available, flexibility, accessories, maintenance & servicing, durability and of course pricing before making a choice. The difficult part is that in many instances the buyer may be limited in their search and would therefore need the guidance/participation of their families and therapists at various levels of the process.
A glimpse at what is currently available in the wheelchair industry can be accessed on the Internet with interesting new developments.
All in all a wheelchair must suit its owner, whether he/she is able to take care of himself or is largely dependent on support from others. Additional features and accessories will always reduce the level of dependence on others. Where possible a manufacturer may even customize a wheelchair for a particular person or purpose. The most recent wheelchair has such enhanced functions as ability to climb stairs, curbs, traverse gravel sand and so on. But then you part with $30,000.
Remember they say that a return to normality is immeasurable, irreplaceable and priceless.
About the author:
Macharia Kamau is a medical representative
For more articles on wheelchairs and mobility equipments Please visit http://www.merpetsales.com.]

Macharia Kamau is a medical representative with a leading pharmaceutical company in Nairobi.