Zack Craft, vice president of rehabilitation technology and complex care for Total Medical Solutions, encourages a standing feature integrated into a wheelchair base whenever possible for injured workers confined to a wheelchair. While these types of wheelchairs are more expensive on the front end, they provide for greatly improved mobility and enhanced wellness of the patient. Thus, they provide for much better outcomes over the life of the claim.
Wheelchair Standing Defined.
Wheelchairs with built in standing features allow the patient to obtain a standing position without transferring from the wheelchair. Such wheelchairs incorporate a mechanical or electromechanical system manipulated with levers or controls that move the seat from horizontal to a vertical or anteriorly sloping position while maintaining verticality of the legrests and backrest, thus extending the hips and knee joints. A full vertical standing position is achieved directly from sitting, or through gradual angle changes from a laying position, or a combination of either of these positions. Most wheelchair standers allow for full or partial extension of the hip and knee joints, and full upright or partially tilted positions.
Benefits of standing include:
- Improved functional reach to enable participation in ADLs (Activities of Daily Living)
- Enhanced independence and productivity
- Vital organ capacity is greatly improved
- Reduced occurrence of urinary tract infections
- Bone mineral density loss reduced or eliminated
- Improved circulation; reduced swelling in extremeties
- Reduced abnormal muscle tone and spasticity
- Occurrence of pressure sores reduced
- Diminished occurrence of skeletal deformities
- Enhanced physiological well being
Additional benefits of standing wheelchairs include: reduced fatigue, ability for some male patients to use public urinals, a reduction in the need for attendant care, reduced transfers and reduced home modifications.
One of the chairs Zack recommends to patients is the Permobil C500 VS.
For more information on standing wheelchairs, or other assitive technology devices, please contact Total Medical Solutions.
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