Page 21 - Mobility Management, January/February 2022

somebody a chair with 0° camber is if I’m worried about them getting through a door — if they’re wide and their chair is wide, and I’m worried about door access,” Rosen said. Basically, everybody else she sets up in her clinic “gets 2° to 4° of camber because the chair rolls better. The wheels are closer to your body, so you have better wheel access. It just makes for a more stable base.”
Such modest amounts of camber, Rosen added, are not readily noticeable, unless you know what to look for. “With 2° to 4° of camber — you really don’t see it. It’s not obvious that there’s camber in the wheels, unless you’re actually specifically looking. Anybody who would look at the chair would not think there was camber at 2° or 4°.
“But if you push a chair with 0°, 2°, and 4° of camber, you’d feel the difference.”
Because Everything Matters in Manual Wheelchairs
Camber can make those rear wheels easier to reach, a real benefit especially to very young ultralightweight wheelchair users with shorter arms.
“If I really know there’s never going to be a door access issue because you’re super small, I’ll go with 4°
[of camber], because you’ll come back and tell me
it’s easier to push,” Rosen said. “It gets the wheel a little closer to him up at the top so he’s not having to abduct so much, and it’s an easier turn. If I make [an adult wheelchair] just a smidgen too wide, you can’t get into your house. In kids’ [wheelchairs], I don’t have to think about that.”
Despite its great potential impact, Rosen added that camber is just one element in the science and art of opti- mally setting up an ultralightweight wheelchair, whether it’s for a world-class athlete, a weekend warrior, or a giggling preschooler whose main goal is keeping up with siblings.
“Some of it being easier to push is [due to] the rest of my setup,” she said.
“Everything matters on a manual chair. I can put your center of gravity in a great place, but if I give you no camber, you’re going to feel like it’s hard to push. If I put your seat depth in the wrong place and make you sit uncomfortably, having perfect camber doesn’t make a difference.
“I can give you the lightest-weight chair on the market, whatever that is today, and if I don’t set up everything right, it can feel just as bad as pushing a steel chair.” m
Mobility Management (ISSN 1558-6731) is published 6 times a year, January/February, March/April, May/ June, July/August, September/October, and November/December, by 1105 Media, Inc., 6300 Canoga Avenue, Suite 1150, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. Periodicals postage paid at Woodland Hills, CA 91367, and at additional mailing offices. Complimentary subscriptions are sent to qualifying subscribers. Annual subscription rates payable in U.S. funds for non-qualified subscribers are: U.S. $119.00, International $189.00. Subscription inquiries, back issue requests and address changes: Mail to: Mobility Management, P.O. Box 2166, Skokie,
IL 60076-7866, email MOBmag@1105service.com or call 866-293-3194 or 847-513-6011 for U.S. & Canada; 00-1-847-513-6011 for International, fax 847-763-9564. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mobility Management, P.O. Box 2166, Skokie, IL 60076-7866. Canada Publications Mail Agreement No: 40612608. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to Circulation Dept. or XPO Returns: P.O. Box 201, Richmond Hill,
ON L4B 4R5, Canada.
© Copyright 2022 by 1105 Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Reproductions in whole or part prohibited except by written permission. Mail requests to “Permissions Editor,” c/o Mobility Management, 14901 Quorum Dr., Ste. 425, Dallas, TX 75254.
The information in this magazine has not undergone any formal testing by 1105 Media, Inc. and is distributed without any warranty expressed or implied. Implementation or use of any information contained herein is the reader’s sole responsibility. While the information has been reviewed for accuracy, there is no guarantee that the same or similar results may be achieved in all environments. Technical inaccuracies may result from printing errors and/or new developments in the industry.
Corporate Headquarters:
1105 Media
6300 Canoga Avenue, Suite 1150
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
www.1105media.com
Media Kits: Direct your Media Kit requests to Lynda Brown, 972-687-6781 (phone), 972-687-6769 (fax), lbrown@1105media.com.
Reprints: For single article reprints (in minimum quantities of 250-500), e-prints, plaques and posters contact: PARS International
Phone: 212-221-9595
E-mail: 1105reprints@parsintl.com
1105reprints.com
This publication’s subscriber list, as well as other lists from 1105 Media, Inc., is available for rental. For more information, please contact our list manager, Marie Briganti, Merit Direct. Phone (914) 368-1023;
email: MBriganti@MeritDirect.com; Web: https://go.meritb2b.com/1105.
MobilityMgmt.com
MOBILITY MANAGEMENT | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022 21