Wheelchair
For a person with spinal cord injury (PwSCI) not a wheelchair but the right wheelchair is what legs are for normal persons. A wheelchair enables PwSCI to carry out his/her daily chores like going to the toilet, washroom, vehicle, garage, and out in the sun. Thus people are not “confined” or "jailed" in fact liberated, enabled, and empowered by their wheelchairs and at the same time keeping their body posture correct therefore selecting the right wheelchair can be so difficult and confusing for a new PwSCI and it is there peer mentor's and proffessionals advice and knowledge about wheelchairs is pivotal, essential, beneficial and more importantly necessary and mandatory. As the bodies of PwSCI are not same their wheelchairs cannot be the same and when the needs and power of upper limbs of every PwSCI is different wheelchairs with different specifications and features will be needed for their mobility and ambulatory purposes.
Wheelchair
Neomotion... the first wheelchair of international standards manufactured in india.
The manufacturer (NEOFLY) customize it in 20 ways according to the needs of PwSCI. The company also manufactures a battery run attachment named NEOBOLT which can be attached and detached to it in just a minute and can run for 30kms on one charge
For a PwSCI not wheelchair but the right wheelchair is what legs are for the normal persons. A wheelchair enables PwSCI to carry out his/her daily chores like going to toilet, washroom, garage and out in the sun. A wheelchair does not only provide the mobility but it is of utmost importance to keep the upper limbs strong enough for daily different activities. Today measurements are taken by proffessionals so that a PwSCI gets right wheelchair. Unfortunately here it was just a public event for politicians and the concerned department to fix a time to distribute wheelchairs without even thinking how harmful unmeasured, undersized and oversized wheelchair are. For example if the distance between the seat and Footrest pedal is longer it will result in the foot drop of PwSCI. Oversized wheelchair ♿ results in the distortion of shoulders and affects the body posture and in many cases it results in the deformity of different bones. The right sized back is essential to keep the back bone curvature intact and sitting at the right position of centre of gravity makes it easy to propel the wheelchair. Nowadays wheelchairs with mechanical and electronic adjustments have come but the heavy prices keep them out of the reach of PwSCI from poor and unprivileged families. The right distance between the back wheel rim and push rim is essential and any error will result in the bruising and fracture of fingers. It is better to avoid metallic armrests and footrests as they become hot and cold very quickly and the lack of sensation can result in bedsore and injury.
A PwSCI can move around as quickly in a right wheelchair as a normal person can in walking. So the wheelchairs should be comfortable, portable and customised according to the needs of PwSCI or any other paralysed person. It is the wheelchair which provides them access to work and different outer activities like shopping, social life or travel outside the home and even country. So many factors and features are considered in choosing the right wheelchair considering the specific abilities and disabilities,needs, comfort, optimum size, weight and type of usage, and cost. Problem starts when there is no facility of getting customised wheelchair and it is the hard reality of India and now recently a company Neofly has started providing customised and measured NEOMOTION WHEELCHAIRS measured by proffessionals but ninety percent (90%) of paralysed persons being unemployed and from lower layers of society cannot afford to buy it nor does govt take a forward step to keep wheelchair and it's part tax free.
So the technology has made the life of paralysed persons easy but very few has access to this technology and also to Internet to find the wheelchairs according to their needs thus developing many orthopaedic, physical and psychological problems which resultantly affect their psychological state and they prefer to be bedridden and mostly indoors. This is one of the most important reasons of these persons becoming vulnerable and suffer from bedsores, contractures and bone deformity.
Two types of Wheelchairs
Mainly there are two types of Wheelchairs one being MANUAL WHEELCHAIR and other being BATTERY or ELECTRONIC WHEELCHAIR. It is advised and of ultra importance to use a manual wheelchair which not only provide mobility keep the upper limbs strong enough for the daily different chores and activities. The folding of Wheelchair allows the user to carry it everywhere as it occupies little space and can fit into all the boots of vehicles and in planes. Today measurements are taken by proffessionals so that a PwSCI gets right and customised wheelchair. Unfortunately here it was just a public event and event of fame for politicians and the concerned department to fix a time to distribute wheelchairs without even thinking how harmful unmeasured, undersized and oversized wheelchair are.
For example if the distance between the seat and Footrest pedal is longer it will result in the foot drop of PwSCI. The right distance between the back wheel rim and push rim is essential and any error will result in the bruising and fracture of fingers. It is better to avoid metallic armrests and footrests as they increase spascity and can become hot and cold very quickly and the lack of sensation can result in bedsore and injury. Oversized wheelchair ♿ results in the distortion of shoulders and affects the body posture and in many cases it results in the deformity of different bones. The right sized back is essential to keep the back bone curvature intact and sitting at the right position of centre of gravity makes it easy to propel the wheelchair.
BATTERY or ELECTRONIC WHEELCHAIR are propelled by battery power and a paralysed person drives it with a joy stick turning it left, right, front or back to get the directions of drive respectively. It becomes necessary for the persons having injury at higher levels having little or partial movement in their arms. Nowadays battery wheelchairs come with many mechanical and electronic adjustments like removal of batteries and then folding have come but the heavy prices keep them out of the reach of PwSCI from poor and unprivileged families. A tilt system in both the wheelchairs redistributes pressure from the buttocks and posterior thighs to the posterior trunk and head. The system maintains posture and prevents the friction on tissues from dragging across the seat of Wheelchair when one gets tired for sitting on the wheelchair for longer duration of time. Recline systems drops the back rest to the level of sitting seat and by elevating leg rests to the same level changes the wheelchair into a portable bed like facility. The only draw back is that it needs a wider space and can become problem in working places where there is a limited space. Nowadays there are wheelchairs which have the features to make a person stand therefore these are are called standing wheelchairs. These wheelchairs help paralysed persons to stand upright in a standing position thus making them less vulnerable to pressure sores and improving blood circulation and also reduce spasms and contractions.
SPECIALIZED OR SPORTS WHEELCHAIRS are meant and designed for sports and different outdoor activities or road racing. PwSCI playing WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL, WHEELCHAIR TENNIS, WHEELCHAIR RACING are some of the sports played on these wheelchairs. With the advancement of technology different battery run attachments like wheelchair ASSIST, CLIP which can be attached and detached in a wink by paralysed persons at their own and wheelchairs with adjustable center of gravity have come in the market which enables the wheelchair rider to adjust it according to the terrain going on.
BUT AGAIN TECHNOLOGY HAS A PRICE WHICH EVERY PARALYSED PERSON CANNOT AFFORD SO GOVERNMENT WILL HAVE TO COME BY MEANS OF PROVIDING THESE ITEMS AND ALSO INSIST CORPORATE WORLD TO INCLUDE IT IN CSR PROJECTS.