Page 19 - Mobility Management, April/May 2020

“For example in our line right now, with the 5R versus the 7R, you’re going to have some differences in what I can do as far as center of gravity, what I can do with any other sort of adjust- ment, down to whether you choose the caster position or not. I’m looking at where I can tweak.”
While fully dialed-in, non-adjustable chairs can offer lower overall weights and a better ride, first-time ultralight users are still adjusting to new ranges of function and still learning how to navigate using a new form of personal mobility.
“Just because somebody ends up in a wheelchair that requires a fair amount of options for adjustment when they’re first injured doesn’t mean the next time they won’t move up to a chair that is more rigidized, with less choice,” Kiger said. “You can do a fully rigid chair if you want to. But those are normally most successful for people that know exactly what they want and they’re not changing. For somebody newly injured, I wouldn’t necessarily do a fully rigid back. I’d want to do a fold-down back where I could tweak it to three different positions throughout the day, because what if they need different trunk support throughout the day?”
Rigid vs. Folding
The question of adjustability goes hand in hand with the question of a rigid vs. a folding frame. Historically, first-time
ultralight users were given folding chairs because of the addi- tional adjustability that those systems offered.
But Lisa Cordero, PT, ATP, National Seating & Mobility, said advances in rigid frame adjustability could mean a different path now.
“I think it’s the way we all used to think,” Cordero said of choosing a folding frame for first-time users. “I don’t think it’s the way we all think now. Rigids have come such a long way with the ability to be adjustable that it makes a very appealing option for people if it’s meeting their needs.... It’s not an automatic rule-out at all.”
That said, there are a lot of factors to think about. “I wouldn’t put someone in their first chair in a non-adjustable rigid frame where you have no ability to do anything,” Cordero said. “That conversation comes from our evaluation and our interview. We’ve had people where we’re all on board, we’re going to go with rigid, and [the client] will come in for the final follow-up or appoint- ment and they’ll say, ‘I was talking to my family, and we talked about how the two of them fold differently, and because of our vehicle and our lifestyle, a folding frame is going to fit our ability to transport better than the rigid will.’
“Even though we showed the ways both fold down or disas- semble, for some people it’s what fits better, transportation wise,
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