Summary
A wheelchair is an important rehabilitation tool that enables the sick and disabled to take care of themselves.
With the help of wheelchairs, disabled patients can take care of their own lives, take care of household chores, and perform appropriate full-time work.
In addition to being a means of mobility, wheelchairs can also exercise their bodies and improve their enjoyment and confidence in life.
The structure of a normal wheelchair is generally composed of four parts: frame, wheels (large wheels, small wheels), braking device, chair seat and backrest.
People for whom the ordinary wheelchair is suitable: spinal cord injury, lower limb disability, craniocerebral disorders, old age, frailty, and multiple diseases.
When choosing a wheelchair, patients should have at least one upper limb functioning normally and be able to operate the wheelchair familiarly and pay attention to whether the seat part’s size is appropriate to avoid skin abrasion abrasions and bedsores.
Share tips for using wheelchairs in daily life
Sitting in a wheelchair for a long time, the first thing you feel is the discomfort of the hip, there will be a numb feeling, so we should consider the improvement of the seat cushion, and the easiest way is to make a thick cushion on it again.
Cushion available car seat sponge (high density, better elasticity), according to the size of the wheelchair seat cushion cut down the sponge, the thickness of about eight to ten centimeters, the outside set with leather or cloth can be, such as patients with incontinence, can be outside the sponge first set of plastic bags, if the leather jacket can be sewn together at once, the cloth can be used at one end with a zipper, to remove and wash.
With this thick cushion, the buttocks’ pressure will be much lessened, thus preventing bedsores’ occurrence.
Sitting in a wheelchair will also feel the back’s soreness, especially the waist, because the nerves are damaged, the strength of the lumbar muscles will be reduced a lot, and the high-level patients even basically lose.
Hence, the soreness of the back is present in every patient, there is a way to reduce the soreness properly, that is, a small circular pad behind the waist, the size of about thirty centimeters, the thickness can be fifteen to twenty centimeters, with this pad against the back, the soreness If you are willing to increase the back pad, you can try it.
There are certain skills to use the wheelchair, and mastering them will help us a lot in our actions, the most basic and most commonly used is the front wheel.
When we encounter a small hurdle or step, I am afraid that the hard-up is to crash the wheelchair, lift the front wheel and cross the obstacle, the problem will be solved.
The method of lifting the front wheel is not difficult, as long as the hand rim is turned forward violently, due to inertia, the front wheel will be raised, but need to control the strength to prevent excessive force from falling backward.
The following, I often encountered several situations in detail to do a little introduction.
Passing
We often encounter some small cans or pits when we go out, and the front wheel is small, it is difficult to pass, then as long as the front wheel can be crossed, the rear wheel diameter is large, it is easy to pass.
Up the steps
When you go out, there will be a single step on the side of the road, master the skill of the advanced wheel, and you can go up.
First, advance the wheel to the top of the step, then bend forward to make the center of gravity shift forward, then turn the hand rim to make the rear wheel come up and resume the sitting position, but do not lean on the back cushion to turn the rear wheel, which will easily make the wheelchair fall backward.
The height of the step should be about ten centimeters, if it is higher than ten centimeters, it will be complicated to get up the rear wheel.
The steps should be the same as above, with the steps reversed.
Uphill
If it is a larger wheelchair, the center of gravity will be more forward, and it is easier to go up the slope.
If the wheelchair is smaller and the center of gravity is in the middle, the wheelchair will feel backward when going up the slope, so it should be slightly bent over or backward when going up the slope.
So what are the precautions for using wheelchairs in daily life?
1, Pay attention to safety, when entering or leaving the house or encountering obstacles, do not hit the door or obstacles with the wheelchair (especially since most older people have osteoporosis and are prone to injury).
2, When pushing the wheelchair, ask the patient to hold the armrests of the wheelchair and sit as far back as possible, do not lean forward or get off by yourself; avoid falling and add a restraint belt if necessary.
3, Since the front wheels of the wheelchair are small, and it is easy to cause the wheelchair to stop suddenly when it encounters small obstacles (such as small stones, small ditches, etc.) and cause the wheelchair or the patient to tip forward and hurt the patient, so the person pushing the wheelchair must be careful and can use the backward pulling method if necessary (because the rear wheels are larger, the ability to cross the obstacles is stronger).
4, When pushing the wheelchair down the slope, the patient’s head and back should lean back and hold on to the handrail to avoid accidents.
5, Observe the condition at all times, if the patient has swelling, ulcers or joint pain in the lower limbs, lift the pedals and pad them with soft pillows.
6, Pay attention to keeping warm in cold weather, lay the blanket straight on the wheelchair, also use the blanket around the patient’s neck and fix it with a pin while surrounding both arms and pinning it to the wrist, then surround the upper body, take off shoes and wrap both lower limbs and both feet with the blanket.
7, The wheelchair should be checked frequently, lubricated regularly and kept intact for backup
Remark, the main thing is still to be careful, regular physical examination of the wheelchair, and cut carelessness.
What do patients need to pay attention to when using a wheelchair?
To open the wheelchair, place both hands on the horizontal bars on each side of the wheelchair (below the armrests) and press down at the same time to open it. To close the wheelchair, turn the footrest up first, then hold the ends of the cushion with both hands and lift it upward at the same time.
When pushing forward, release the brake before maneuvering, sit backward, look ahead, stretch your hands backward, bend your elbows slightly, and hold the rear part of the wheel ring with both hands.
When pushing, lean forward, push both upper limbs forward at the same time and straighten the elbow joints, when the elbow is completely straight, release the wheel ring, and so on.
For patients with the normal function of one limb and dysfunction of the other (such as hemiplegia) or fracture of one upper and lower limb, the healthy side’s upper and lower limbs can be used to operate the wheelchair at the same time. The method is as follows: first turn up the pedal on the healthy side, but the healthy food on the ground, and hold the hand rim with the healthy hand when pushing, the footsteps forward on the ground and moves the wheelchair forward in cooperation with the healthy hand.
When going up a slope, keep your upper body leaning forward and shift your weight forward. If the wheelchair is tilted back when going up a slope, the wheelchair will likely rollback.
What should people who often use wheelchairs be aware of?
Wheelchairs are a common mobility tool for people with physical disabilities and are essential in their daily lives.
Using the correct sitting posture, patients in wheelchairs should lean against the wheelchair backrest, sit in the middle of the wheelchair, keep the upper body straight and lean against the middle of the backrest, keep both shoulders level; place the feet in the middle of the footrest, with the soles of the feet touching (close to) the footrest. If the elderly have swelling, ulcers or joint pain in the lower extremities, the pedals can be lifted and padded with soft pillows.
Older people who have been riding wheelchair vehicles for a long time, especially those who have lost the ability to adjust their position, should choose cushions to prevent pressure sores, functioning as dispersing pressure on the hips well as preventing skin friction.
The time spent in a wheelchair should not be too long. Every 30 minutes or so, relatives or caregivers should assist the elderly to stand or change their sitting position to avoid pressure sores caused by prolonged pressure on the buttocks.
Pay attention to safety and do not hit doors or obstacles with the wheelchair when entering or leaving the house or when encountering them (especially since most older people with osteoporosis are prone to injury);
Pay attention to keeping warm in cold weather, lay blankets straight on the wheelchair, and also use blankets around the patient’s neck, fixed with pins, and around both arms at the same time, with pins fixed at the wrists, and then wrap the upper body, take off shoes and wrap both lower limbs and both feet with blankets.
Check your wheelchair frequently, add lubricant regularly, and keep it intact for backup.
Is it possible for a normal person to use a wheelchair?
Wheelchairs bring a lot of convenience to the disabled and the elderly.
Many normal people see red and want to buy themselves a wheelchair for a while, so can normal people sit in a wheelchair?
Of course, they can, but TOUSDA recommends that if you are under 50 years old, you should exercise more and use a wheelchair when you are old.
Many patients with lower limb disabilities, hemiplegia, and below-thoracic paraplegia cannot walk due to the loss of motor function in their lower limbs and need to rely on wheelchairs as a substitute for walking.
By understanding the structure of wheelchairs, helping patients choose the most suitable wheelchair, and mastering the skills of wheelchair operation through wheelchair training, we can create the necessary conditions for patients to live independently and return to society.
Besides, the elderly are also the main group of people who use wheelchairs, and the most basic elderly-friendly aids for the elderly are standard:
“three chairs and a bed (elderly-friendly functional wheelchair, elderly-friendly bathing chair, elderly-friendly toilet chair, elderly-friendly functional nursing bed).”
For dysfunctional older people who can use a wheelchair, a wheelchair is a seat that they can’t leave during the day.
For normal people, wheelchairs are only used during illness, but not on weekdays.
More exercise is good for the growth of bones and muscles, enhancing cardiopulmonary function, improving the blood circulation system, respiratory system and digestive system, facilitating the growth and development of the human body, improving the ability to resist disease and enhancing the adaptability of the organism.
Conclusion
A wheelchair is a necessary tool for every person with paraplegia, without which it would be difficult to get around, so every patient will have their own experience of using it.
The correct use of wheelchair and mastering certain skills will greatly help our degree of self-care.
