Case Study: Using Living Aids In The Home

Jean is 83 and lives alone at home in Stockport. She has arthritis affecting many of the joints in her body, making her life increasingly difficult. She finds that using certain aids to daily living have assisted her and reduced her discomfort.

Jean’s arthritis impacts many of her joints, but the most debilitating is the back pain this causes. Because the lower back bears so much weight, it is in this area where most people experience pain, and she is among them.

There are a number of forms of arthritis affecting the back and in particular the spine. The condition initially causes stiffness and usually become increasingly painful over time. Inflammation arises where bones connect to tendon tissue. In severe cases it leads to spinal joints fusing together. This creates a major loss of mobility and various knock-on consequences.

As the body tries to adapt to the back’s lack of mobility, other tendons, muscles and joints fall under great stress.

At 83, Jean has lived with arthritis for over 20 years. The pain in the lumbar area of her back makes it difficult to stand up for long periods. It also makes it difficult to get to her feet from a sitting position.

Small Change, Big Difference

For many years she struggled using the toilet. The strain it placed on her back when rising from a sitting position was both painful and difficult. For the last four years she has used a raised toilet seat to help her. It attaches to the toilet with some turn-clamps and increases the height of the seat by four inches.

This seemingly small change made a big difference. Jean found that by reducing the distance of travel from sitting to standing, her back was now under much less strain. This eased the pain in her back. She also had a support rail fitted next to the WC. Using this which further reduced the pressure on her lower spine.

After finding out what a difference it made, she then took similar steps with other chairs around the home. She fitted a booster cushion to her armchair, which again raised its height.

In the kitchen, she uses a perching stool when preparing food at the worktop. This takes the strain off her back while allowing her to reach things as if she was fully standing.

Along with the raised toilet seat, she uses a range of tools in the bathroom which help her in various ways. Jean’s back trouble makes getting in and out of the bath difficult. While she has tried using a bath seat fitted with suckers inside the bathtub, the strain placed on her back when trying to get out is still too great.

She is lucky enough to have a walk-in shower, so now uses this instead of the bath. Even standing up unsupported for the duration of the shower is uncomfortable so she looked at a range of shower seats which might help.

Because the cubicle is relatively small, a freestanding stool was not ideal. Instead she opted for a seat that would fold up against the wall when not in use. Jean has found this to be a great space-saver and ideal for her situation.

As arthritis has gradual reduced her mobility, she is now using a walking frame to get around the house. Its handles had fairly narrow handles which she found irritated the arthritis in her fingers and made the frame painful to use. To combat this, she built up the handles using tape usually designed for the grips of tennis raquets!

She lives in a single story bungalow, so does not have to worry about climbing stairs. The one steps she has to climb are the two up the front door. A handrail makes them easier to negotiate.

Outside, a mobility scooter gets Jean to and from the shops. While it took some getting used to and she has to plan her route to avoid high curbs, it now gives a sense of freedom she had lost.

Source : https://essentialaids.tumblr.com/post/185078190373/case-study-using-living-aids-in-the-home

Mobility Equipment for Arthritis Sufferers

More than 10 million people in the UK suffer with arthritis. It is one of the most common conditions affecting joints in the human body. It causes pain, swelling, stiffness and inflammation. Certain mobility aids can be useful tools when living with the condition.

Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis

There are two types of the disease: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The former is by far the most common and usually develops in people over the age of 40. There is a strong genetic link and it is much more common in women than men.

Often linked to other conditions which impact the joints, it mostly attacks the hands, knees, hips and spine.

Osteoarthritis occurs when the layer of smooth cartilage in the joint wears thin and its surface becomes rough. This leads to pain and stiffness, which in turn increases the stress on surrounding muscles and tendons. After a while, small, painful spurs of bone can develop.

The wearing down of cartilage tissue can in severe cases leave the bones completely unprotected. Bone rubbing on bone as the joint moves causes great pain to the patient and reduces their mobility.

Rheumatoid arthritis is again more common in women than men and affects over 400,000 people in the UK. Unlike osteoarthritis, it results when the body’s own immune system affects bone joints. This leads to pain and inflamed areas.

There are a wide range of disability aids for arthritis suffers available.

Impact on Lifestyle

Often, arthritis is in more than one part of the body at the same time. Its effect on the hands can be life changing for some people. Gripping and manipulating objects becomes painful. Using a pen, computer keyboard or other tasks which need manual dexterity can become hard. Some use tools made to ease the pain.

Disability aids are available which subtly alter the stresses placed on the joints in the fingers. For example, fitting built-up handles to pens, pencils, knives and forks can make them easier and less painful to use.

Depending on the degree to which the arthritis causes pain, sufferers are generally encouraged to exercise. Regular exercise improves the strength of muscles and tendons around the affected joints. It may reduce stiffness and increase the mobility their joints.

Eating healthily and maintaining a good body weight is also beneficial. Gaining weight through lack of exercise puts more stress on the joints and could make the condition worse.

Steps to Take

Doctors recommended that people with arthritis take steps to reduce the chance of making the condition worse. They should also avoid heavy lifting and other possible day-to-day task which might put stress on the joints.

Suggestions also include trying to avoid putting too much stress or weight through smaller joints. Using your shoulders to bear weight with a rucksack rather than using shopping bags, spreads the weight evenly through the body.

If you need to use plastic bags, small disability aids which prevent them digging into your fingers are widely available. The goal is to prevent the need to grip tightly with the hands and fingers.

Padded grips or using other means to increase the width of handles can also help.

If arthritis is effecting many major joints in the body, stretching upwards or reaching down can become difficult and painful. There are many long handled mobility aids which are useful for people in this situation. Reachers which jaws on the far end are great for bringing objects back within reach or from the floor.

Long handled washing aids make life easier in the bathroom. They reduce the range of motion to reach difficult areas of the body. Around the home, fitting handrails can offer useful support. Fitting levers to taps make them easier to turn on or off.

Using Electrical goods like extra small kettles or electric tin openers can also make a difference. Special bottle or jar opener are available which again reduce the amount of hand dexterity required.

Source : https://essentialaids.tumblr.com/post/185009475323/mobility-equipment-for-arthritis-sufferers

‘Ramping-Up’ A New World

When James was 42 he lost the ability to use his legs after a motorcycle accident. He had been sporty, very active and loved life. He has a passion for motorbikes and it was this which in the end led to complete change in his lifestyle.

James's bike hit a car whose driver had failed to see him when turning right across the lane he was travelling on in the other direction. Although He has no memory of the crash, witness accounts said his bike struck the left wing of the car, tossing him 20 feet into the air. He eventually landed in the middle of a field.

He then spent 23 days in a coma, had many broken bones and a severe closed head injury. Doctors said his brain had bounced off the inside of his skull with immense force, causing memory loss and a host of other problems. The vertebrae in his spine sustained damage in two places, leading to paralysis.

As a child he always enjoyed BMX biking and jumping off ramps had been great fun. Now different types of ramp would become an important part of his life.

Adapting The Home For Wheelchairs

Getting used to a powered wheelchair was another revolution for James. While restricted in some ways, his specially adapted home provides him with a great deal of independence. The heavily modified bungalow has easy-roll surfaces throughout. Other wheelchair accessories include widened doorways and flat door thresholds.

The wet room is again seamless at ground level. Its shower cubicle is wide, easy draining and has a shower head controlled by low level levers. Sometimes he does need help, but he is able to perform many tasks without help.

He has also had wheelchair ramps fitted where steps would prevent easy rolling through the main door and to the door to the garden.

Because of relative bulk of the power chair, James’s wife Karen often uses an attendant propelled wheelchair for trips outside. This needs more planning than it used to, but she says they are now in the swing of it.

They have an adapted people-carrier with various wheelchair accessories. The wheelchair ramps for the vehicle and six-foot long, which makes them somewhat bulky when at their extended length.

Luckily they fold in the middle and fit inside the vehicle quite easily in this state. Their length means that the gradient at which they operate is quite shallow, which increases safety. Shorter ramps would need to be much steeper to cover the incline.

The ramps are also fairly lightweight, so are suitable for other purposes if James and Karen are near enough to the vehicle.

Often she carries a more lightweight set of ramps which collapse down into a bag. These are useful if they meet obstacles which would otherwise be difficult to overcome.

These telescopic ramps are excellent to simply hook over the back of the wheelchair when not in use. They are in two sections which have raised sides, preventing the wheelchair’s wheels from slipping off.

James and his family have invested heavily in adapting almost every aspect of his practical life to this new situation. Things which used to be routine may now more complex, but are by no means impossible.

Throughout the world there are many people in similar situations to James. He and his family have used the internet to connect with them and share ideas. Not only is it a solace to discuss the situation with similar people, but it has the practical benefit of receiving and giving suggestions. Providing ideas for wheelchair accessories has been a popular topic of conversation.

The many type of ramp now available was eye-opening. Gone were the heavy old models which were difficult to transport and position. Modern aluminium and fibreglass units offered much more flexibility and possibility.

This improves access for personal wheeled mobility aids. While fitting fixed ramps was the solution for his home, more flexible and portable options were the way forward elsewhere.

Source : https://essentialaids.tumblr.com/post/184844866028/ramping-up-a-new-world

Don’t Accept That Mobility Aids Have To Be Boring

People who use walking aids for long periods of time are turning to ‘pimping’ them in order to make them more personal and less boring. Standard issue models are usually functional in design and grey in colour.

In the UK, we are all familiar with the drab NHS models. They may do the job, but they are grim and depressing in appearance. More people than ever are looking to change things up and create a more exciting look.

Some manufacturers have for some time made coloured versions where the plastic components are available in red or blue. In a few cases a coating to the aluminium shafts gives them a more colourful metallic sheen. All-black models are also available.

But increasingly the idea of bespoke design is catching on. People want to stand out, be individual and proud.

Be Creative!

Most people using crutches as part of the everyday lives tend to opt for permanent user models. These have shafts cut down to the exact size required using a hacksaw. They don’t have easy-adjustment features, but the end result is a more solid feeling and make less creaking noises when in use.

Decoration with printed patterns personalizes the shafts. Some choose a repeating design, while others might add stickers of the logo of their favourite football team, for example. Stickers are simple, self-adhesive and widely available, so provide a great option, especially for kids.

For very creative people, they can even be hand painted if the right materials are available.

One novel decoration is to encase the units in a material of your choice. Fabrics like cotton or even leather are great for this purpose.

The Blue Jean Look!

Jeanette has had to use mobility equipment for some years because of a chronic condition affecting her right knee. Fed-up with the standard-issue grey, she decided to jazz things up and make them more interesting.

Jeanette loves jeans. She never takes them off. Blue denim is her trademark. She wears it all the time, on her legs and in the shape of denim jackets and shirts.

So when she found herself using a crutch every day, she thought, what better way to make these my own than covering them in denim?

She had many old pairs of jeans which she was able to cut into pieces, stitch and glue onto the component parts. The result was unique and exactly the look Jeanette wanted. She didn’t just add it to the shafts, but the hand-pads and under-arm components too. It was almost wall-to-wall denim.

Now she feels they are more of a fashion statement. They are an extension of her image, and she receives many admiring comments.

A Novel Use for Tartan

Another example is Joan, whose hip injury left her unable to walk unaided. She too faced the choice of using a wheelchair or crutches on a long-term basis. Not wanting the restrictions which come with a chair, she opted for the latter and has never looked back.

She is Scottish and fiercely proud of her roots. Like many Scots, she has a specific tartan association with her ancestral family. So it was a natural choice to use this as her choice of decoration. Like Jeanette, she covered the entire units with her family tartan. Thus turning them into fashion accessories with real meaning and identity.

An even more extravert decoration is go for the bling look. Covering your walking aids in sparkling diamante is a sure-fire way to turn heads. Because of this, several injured celebrities use walking supports with just this look. They are a great way of being creative, getting noticed and creating a talking point.

Another benefit is that in a small way, the dowdy image of crutches gradually reduces when these glamorous versions appear in the press.

Taking it to the final degree is Joe, a 90s raver who has never lost the dance-music bug. He turned his mobility equipment into a work project, fixing LED lighting to every component. This made them luminescent in the dark and almost into a work of art.

Source : https://essentialaids.tumblr.com/post/184732146333/dont-accept-that-mobility-aids-have-to-be-boring