Page 14 - Mobility Management, February 2017

clinically speaking By Michelle L. Lange, OTR/L, ABDA, ATP/SMS
Dynamic Seating: The Results Are In!
Dynamic seating has always been an area of interest for me. Before any specific product options were available, we were trying out different strategies at
our seating and mobility clinic to provide some move- ment, absorb forces and protect equipment.
So just what is dynamic seating? It is movement that occurs within the seat and/or wheelchair frame in response to force from the client. Dynamic components
I have often believed that dynamic seating is underutilized and/or not considered for certain clinical applications
absorb force, which in turn assists the client back to a starting position.
Dynamic seating can be used to meet a variety of client needs. Being curious about just who was using this technology and how, I decided to put together an informal survey. This survey asked 10 questions using
1Do you currently use dynamic seating?
No 13%
Yes 87%
2What is your role in the use of dynamic seating? Choose all that apply.
85.42% I recommend dynamic seating 67.71% I work with clients who
currently use dynamic seating
47.92% I supply dynamic seating (e.g., install, adjust, repair)
020406080100
Survey Monkey and was sent out via e-mail to the following listservs: Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) AT-Forum, RESNA Wheeled Mobility
and Seating Special Interest
Group, National Registry of
Rehabilitation Technology
Suppliers (NRRTS), and the
American Occupational
Therapy Association (AOTA) Technology Special Interest Section.
In total, 103 people completed the survey, though
only 100 responses were ultimately visible, as this was
the survey’s participant limit. The participant receiving the invitation e-mail had to click on the link to reach the actual survey in Survey Monkey. The survey began with a definition of dynamic seating, to ensure that the partici- pant clearly understood what technology the survey was referring to.
The purpose of the survey was to get a sense of the number of professionals using dynamic seating, the goals of using this technology, and product limitations. Personally, I have seen great benefits from using this technology with the clients I work with and have often believed that dynamic seating is underutilized and/or not considered for certain clinical applications.
Here, we show the survey questions and the results.
3What category of dynamic seating are you using most?
Integrated** 34%
Modular* 66%
*Modular: One or more separate dynamic components added to a wheelchair.
**Integrated: Typically, a wheelchair with integrated dynamic movement in more than one area.
Michelle L. Lange
14 february 2017 | mobilitymanagement
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