Wheelchair
For an individual with a severe disability that necessitates the use of a wheelchair, the equipment is more than just a seat; not just a wheelchair but the right wheelchair serves the same vital functions that legs do for an able-bodied person." To live a healthy wheelchair life runing it for atleast an hour on daily basis is recommended worldwide so the right wheelchair carries a life saving importance for these persons.
A wheelchair enables these persons 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 persons with severe disabilities rendering humans to wheelchair 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 persons are not same their wheelchairs cannot be the same and when the needs and power of upper limbs of every persons is different wheelchairs with different specifications and features will be needed for their mobility and ambulatory purposes.
These persons 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 person with spinal cord injury 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 parts 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 thereby 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 these persons get right and customised wheelchairs. 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 such person. 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 with 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 these persons especially those 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.
CONCLUSION:
THE HOSPITAL CHAIR vs. THE LIFE CHAIR: ENDING THE POLICY BLUNDER The Core Problem: TECHNOLOGY vs. AFFORDABILITY
One of the greatest mistakes in disability advocacy is "clubbing" all wheelchairs into a single category. We must distinguish between the hospital wheelchair and the active-user wheelchair:
The Hospital Chair: Designed for temporary transport and pushed by a caregiver. It is a generic, heavy tool intended for short-term clinical use.
The Hospital Chair: Designed for temporary transport and pushed by a caregiver. It is a generic, heavy tool intended for short-term clinical use. The Life Chair: For those with severe disabilities, a wheelchair is not just wheeled toy but their entire life revolves around it. This chair must be lightweight, customized to their body, and built for independent daily living. While technology has revolutionized mobility, it often comes with a price tag that remains out of reach for many. For a person living with paralysis, an advanced wheelchair is not a luxury-it is a fundamental right to a dignified and independent life.
To ensure that innovation translates into impact, we must look beyond individual effort: GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION : The State must transition from providing basic aid to subsidizing high-performance, lightweight equipment that truly fosters independence. Corporate Accountability: We must urge the corporate world to move mobility technology to the forefront of their CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) projects.