Legal Mandate

With the Disability Discrimination Act recognizing the mobility freedoms of the disabled and mandating unhindered access to public places and building entrance and exit points, the demand for ramps has never been as compelling.

Where stairs are the only means of access, ramps and lifts are required. New buildings and structures where the public has access are specified to allocate ramps with rails to allow safe and easy access by wheelchair-bound invalids.

Ingress and egress points to public places, airports, buses, trains and ocean vessel terminals are mandated to have ramps and lifts for this purpose. These ramps are required to have corresponding directional and identifying signage within easy reading.

Construction specification for ramps in public places is also defined by legal fiat. Aspects like the slopes and widths as well as the requirement for side rails to prevent accidentally falling on the sides have been defined. The DDA mandates a 1:6 maximum slope for temporary ramps for caregiver-assisted manual wheelchairs and 1:12 slope for self-powered wheelchairs. Permanent ramps in public places are mandated no more than 1:15 slopes.

Increasing Mobility

Whether legally mandated or not, for households with a handicap family member, mobility ramps for cars have become a necessary transport accessory. Homes with differing elevation separating a kitchen from the living or other parts of the house, ramps are indispensable to allow a handicap family member to move around, whether on manual or electric powered wheelchairs.

Where ramps cannot be made permanent, there are portable mobility ramps available that are collapsible and portable. This is often the preferred solution for families that need to have one to allow a disabled member to get in and out of vans or cars, or enable access to places where ramps are not permanently built.

There are various types that include the more popular telescopic track type of ramps that can be custom-fitted in fans and SUVs consisting of two tracks that extend out from the vehicle to the road. There are also roll-up flexible ramps as well as multi-foldable ramps made of small panels that when deployed can bridge elevated walkways 2-6 inches high that would make it difficult for wheelchairs to traverse.

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For physical injuries below the waist sustained from accidents or wars to medical neuromuscular conditions that render the legs too feeble to walk, mobility chairs with wheels have been helping millions attain a certain degree of independent mobility that would not be possible without them.

Progressive countries like the UK have legislated mandates recognizing the mobility rights of the disabled and have implemented laws and ordinances specifying the extent of government involvement in promoting the mobility rights of the disabled. They have specified government healthcare assistance as well as the public infrastructures and building codes that allow unhampered access of wheelchair-bound invalids by way of walkway ramps and lifts that bridge elevated structures to facilitate ingress and egress of the disabled.

A Growing Market

The market for wheelchairs and scooters have grown not so much because there are now more invalids, but more on the choices offered in terms of styling and sophistication. For sure, where before, most mobility chairs for sale are generic and limited to the traditional look of wheelchairs, you now have options that bring the wheelchair to state-of-the-art mobility equipment bordering on the robotics.

Ergonomics and aesthetics have found their place in the design of wheelchairs and mobility scooters that elevate them as fashion accessory apart from being competent and efficient mobility aids.

So-called smart wheelchairs can actually think and navigate by sensors and AI-based computing software used in robotic application. Paralytics from the neck down as well as quadriplegics who have lost all limbic functions can now benefit form these special computerized wheelchairs that basically encase them with near-robotic features.

Slight facial movements picked by ultra-sensitive sensors can control navigation while infrared and laser sensors around navigate them clear from any obstruction even if the control is clumsily done. Their fuzzy logic can also learn the usual travel paths that invalid takes.

Needless to say, these computerized wheelchairs can cost a fortune and it is doubtful if Medicare or health insurance companies can cover them. It won’t be surprising that only the wealthiest families can afford them. And being new, there are hardly any used or secondhand smart wheelchairs. And for sure, they’d still cost even when used. Hopefully, over the next few years, in the same way that computers have steadily grown inexpensive, these smart wheelchairs will define the mobility aid landscape and get more affordable.

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Features of Rollators

Rollators come in two basic varieties. Those with small wheels are meant for indoor use, those with large wheels are designed for outdoor use. Three-wheel rollators are quite common in either variants. Like walkers, they are waist high and can be adjusted to support different user heights. They are meant to support your weight while providing stability when walking.

Because they are meant to support your weight and are safe to use, walkers and rollators are constructed of anti-rust aluminum weighing no more that 30 pounds for the heaviest variants. Some are rigid with different heights while others have adjustable heights. Some have portability features that make them lighter to carry and are foldable to make them easy to pack on trips or store in the trunks and closet.

Things to Consider

In general, walkers and rollators are sturdy and durable. When choosing one, make sure it has the right height so that you won’t have to bend or strain yourself to grip it with your wrist. You wrist height should be aligned with the rollator’s handle grip. In addition, get one that can support your weight as different models are specified for a range of weights that each can support.

If you plan to use an outdoor model for moving around in parks or getting to the store, there are accessories like tray baskets and bags that can be attached to it. And if price is a consideration for you, look around for used rollators. They are often disposed by patients who have regained their balance and walking strengths after using them for sometime. You can often get the best bargains and value from these.

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Not that they have not been available in the past, but the modern technologies that have characterized 21st century lifestyle are increasingly making these equipment safer and more comfortable than at any other time in history.

The industry catering to such gears have diversified with mobility equipment dealers and companies offering various types to cater to the ambulatory needs of various disabled persons across all ages and in varying degrees of medical conditions that constrain their mobility.

Crutches

Crutches have always been there to assist ambulatory impaired patients to move around since the dawn of history. These days, there have been orthopedic advances that have enhanced the overall strength, usability and stability of crutches. You have underarm crutches with forearm harnesses and padded grips as well as platform crutches that have 4-5 floor contacts that improve stability.

The simplest is the walking cane and is still around more as a fashion accessory than a medical mobility aid, though they are still used in mild cases, often used by the blind and visually impaired among the disabled.

Wheelchairs

From conventional wheelchairs that are manually navigated or assisted by private nurses and caregivers, you now have a proliferation of electric-powered wheelchairs or EPWs that bring modern technologies and conveniences to the wheelchair-bound invalids.

manual wheelchairs are often the basic prescription for paraplegics who still have strong upper limbs to navigate manual wheelchairs and prefer the independence to do that without caregivers around.

But if they can afford it, motorized wheelchairs can provide the same mobility benefit with ease, comfort and convenience. They are also better as a mobility equipment for children who are often too weak to control manual wheelchairs.

Unlike most medical wheelchairs, there are EPWs that have ergonomic anatomically compensated seats than can be adjusted using micro motors controlling the tilt, recline, seat and leg support elevation. Navigational controls come with the joystick as standard but there other controls available fore quadriplegics and paralytics from the neck down. Chin and mouth control systems are available and can be customized for specific patient needs.

Scooters

Three and four-wheeled mobility scooters are on the rise as they have become more popular among handicaps and even among feeble elderly persons. Not only do they afford great mobility, reaching 4mps down the walkways, they also make the disabled look less of an invalid using one than on wheelchairs.

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The industry providing such aid have not been wanting and you see various medical crutches, manual and self-powered wheelchairs and mobility scooters getting wider selections for consumers with impaired mobility conditions.

Medical Crutches

Regardless of the provisions of DDA, patients with challenged ambulatory conditions due to health and medical reasons have long been prescribed with medical crutches of various types to address varying suitability to their specific needs.

Simple walking canes or sticks have been around for ages. These days, medical crutches that harness the whole body weight like underarm, forearm, platform and knee crutches are available to assist specific ambulatory cases. They are often the first medical ambulatory aids prescribed to convalescing patients or those undertaking physical therapies of their leg muscle injuries. Other disability aids and equipment are also prescribed for longer-term use or when crutches are not sufficient.

Wheelchairs

While wheelchairs are prescribed to more severe ambulatory cases, many disabled persons prefer wheelchairs to crutches as they afford better convenience and movement stability as well as a greater range of mobility range within and outside their homes.

While wheelchairs are unwieldy to move around with, many public places where walkways like roads and streets as well as entrances and exits to buildings and parks that have different elevation have installed permanent ramps that allow wheelchairs to navigate unhindered.

Public transport systems employ hydraulic or pneumatic lifts to hoist disable passengers on wheelchairs. Similar contraptions in portable form are used as disability aids in cars and in homes as well.

Self-powered EPWs and Scooters

The modern application of electricity and electro-mechanical miniaturization has increasingly made motorized wheelchairs and scooters more compact, lighter and sophisticated enough to essentially become the second legs of many mobility-challenged persons.

Wheelchairs can have custom-designed navigation controls that enable even those paralyzed from the neck down or with severe neuromuscular degenerative disease that render limb movement weak or impossible can benefit form wheelchairs with special controls.

Mobility scooters come in 3-4 wheel configuration that allow those with healthier upper torso and arms to navigate their way in short distances to grocery and convenience stores. The more powerful scooters though, may only be used with registration and licensing from the Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Agency or DVLA.

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This will provide easy ingress and egress to and from elevated walkways and access points in both public and private places. These wheelchair ramps are simple inclined planes that bridge walkways and entrance/exit points of different elevation instead of using stair steps.

The objective is basically to allow wheeled contraptions like shopping carts, baby strollers and wheelchair-bound persons easy unhampered access between elevated or depressed surfaces on walkways and entrance/exit points to buildings and structures both public and private.

Permanent and Portable Ramps

Ramps can be permanent or portable. Most access points to buildings and public places and structures have them permanently paved as part of cemented walkways and streets. Local ordinances on building and road/street construction already mandate these ramp structures complete with specifications like maximum angles of incline and the provisioning of handrails at the right height and landings to facilitate their use.

They are also specified to have protective edge barriers and curves to prevent users from slipping off these ramps and the materials to be used so that water does not build-up on them.

Outdoor wheelchair ramps specifications have also been mandated to have minimum widths that accommodate both wheelchairs and enough room for passing. There should be no protruding structures in the way and should have proper directional signage in plain view.

On the other hand, there are portable wheelchair ramps that is generally marketed for personal use by wheelchair users to allow easy ingress and egress from private vans, SUVs and cars as well as in homes and private dwellings.

They come in different designs that can suit special requirements for storage and deployment. There are bariatric multi-paneled, single and multi-fold ramps that are often the least expensive and most commonly used for both wheelchairs and disability scooters.

There are roll-up ramps that are easier to deploy. Most good portable ramps have non-slip surfaces made of lightweight but durable materials for safety and easy portability. There are also telescopic or foldable glide paths or 2-track ramps that feature 6-inch tracks to match the widest wheel. These are generally preferred in mini-vans and may be offered as optional accessories when purchasing road vehicles.

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Ramps are everywhere and less expensive, allowing handicapped persons on wheelchairs to get into both public and private elevated roads and walkways, doors and sidewalks. But for other points of access, wheelchair lifts may be necessary.

These are simple platforms that have powered hydraulic, pneumatic or electro-mechanical articulation to raise and lower wheelchair-bound persons and enable them to overcome any vertical boundary such as multiple stair steps or heights which ramps may be impractical to overcome.

Types of Lifts

There are different kinds of lifts that address situations or locations. Regardless of type, the legal requirements specify certain safety features like ensuring independence to self-operate and providing rails that users can cling to while being operated.

The most common are wheelchair lifts for home use which are simple electro mechanical platforms attached on stairs in multi-storied homes, allowing wheelchair users to ascend and descend a flight of stairs that have them.

Recent technical innovations allow cars, vans, SUVs and trucks to have specials lifts that allow disabled persons not only to be elevated to allow ease of ingress and egress from these vehicles, but also to drive them if the vehicle is specially designed not to use foot pedals to brake and accelerate them.

While such contraptions are needed to customize road vehicles to accept wheel chaired persons, there are now new models with wheelchair lifts for cars coming out right from the factory specially designed for them.

Legislation has also mandated the installation of suitable lifts in public transports like busses, ships, aircraft and trains, including their proper care and maintenance to ensure they are always available in aiding the mobility of disabled persons.

If you are planning to improve handicap accessibility of your home from outside and within, first check if simple ramps can do the job. Otherwise, there are numerous companies offering generic and customized lifts that can fit your specific needs. Check with your Medicare if you can be entitled to deduct these against your benefits.

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With this contraption, all you have to do is sit down or perch on a stairlift and you will be carried up to the next floor level or be brought down.

A lot of companies in the UK specialize in manufacturing stairlifts. These are Acorn, Dolphin, Stannah, Meditek, and Brooks among others. Among these suppliers you can definitely find the stairlift that you need, you can get a new one, buy reconditioned machines, or rent stairlifts.

The price of stairlifts can start at around £1300 while renting it is around £10 per week. Upon delivery, the installation of stairlifts takes only a few hours. The machine will be tested to make sure that everything is working perfectly. You can also have the stairlift customize so it blends with your interiors and furniture.

Know the terms of service of the stairlift that you will purchase or lease so you know whom to call in case it breaks down. You can consult the user’s guide for basic trouble shooting like when the batteries die down causing the stairlift to suddenly stop.

Choosing a Stairlift

The biggest consideration when purchasing a stairlift is the configuration of your stairs. For sure you will find a manufacturer that can fit your needs no matter what the stair design is. Stairlifts can be installed both indoors and outdoors.

• Straight Stairlifts are used for straight stairs without bends, curves, or intermediate landing.
• Curved Stairlifts can negotiate any bends or curves that you may have in your staircase.

You also need to test ride the stairlift so you know if it has a “smooth start” and “smooth stop”. Observe if it emits any noise or weird grinding sound as it goes up and down your stairs.

There are also different frames that can be used for your stairlift. Depending on your condition you can opt for standing, sitting, or perching frame.

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What to Consider

You can source your crutches from hospital supply, disability stores, and mobility stores. You can also order from online stores and have it delivered right at your doorstep. The price range may vary from £20 to £100.

Prior to shopping for crutches online, ask the advice of your GP or PT first so you can get the most appropriate assistive device for you. Make sure that you are getting crutches that fit you right or at least get the adjustable ones.

You will know that axillary crutches are of the right fit if you place them in front of you, with the tips at 6 inches 2 o’ clock from your small toes, and you still have slight bending of your wrists and elbows.

The crutches can be made of wood or metal but you have to go for something that is light enough for you. Check for the cushions on the grip bar and axillary bar. For other types of crutches, make sure that there is enough soft lining in the arm cuffs. The tip of the crutches should also have large suction tips that can absorb the impact.

When you are using crutches and you suddenly observe a tingling sensation radiating from your arm or wrist, or weakness of your arms, call your GP or PT immediately so you can be advised on how to avoid impinging nerves. It will also be helpful if you learn to stretch and relax the shoulder and arm muscles which will do most of the workload.

Worn out tips should also be replaced as soon as possible because the crutches may slip and you may sustain more injuries.

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Types of Crutches

There are different crutches prescribed for different kinds of patients:

• Axillary – this is the most commonly seen crutches. They are used by patients with good to normal upper limb strength.
• Forearm – The more famous forearm crutches are the Loftstrand where a band grips the forearm as support.
• Platform – this is used for patients who cannot bear weight on the wrists or hands.

You will know if the crutches will fit you if you place both devices slightly forward and you can observe a slight bending of the wrists and elbows.

Different Walking Styles

If you are just starting to use the crutches it is best to walk as slowly as possible to avoid falls. Move your crutches forward, step your good or uninjured leg forward. Also refrain from leaning too much on the axillary pads of the crutches to avoid impinging any nerves.

Swing-to Gait

When you are more accustomed to walking with crutches you can use Swing-to Gait tempo, it is faster than using the method above. With Swing–to–Gait, you move the crutches forward then you let you body swing like a pendulum so your feet will just be slightly behind the tips of the crutches.

Swing thru Gait

You will need a little more time for you to use the Swing thru Gait. It is faster than the point system and the swing to gait pattern. Swing thru involves placing the crutches forward, and you ultimately swing your feet like a pendulum advancing beyond the tips of the crutches. Here, every step is a preparation for the next step.

If you cannot avoid the stairs follow this tip: When going up, your uninjured leg goes first so it is the one that will push your body up. Hold both crutches on the side opposite the railings to provide a bit of support. Going down involves the opposite, injured leg goes down first with the crutches providing a bit of support.

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