Mobility Accessories

Wheelchair accessories are adapted and updated as new models of manual and power wheelchairs are developed. New wheelchairs accessory technology can keep patients safer and more comfortable.

Users have become more active, requiring better materials and additional features for improved stability and maneuverability. Wheelchair seating attempts to fulfill many competing goals including supporting posture, managing pressure, promoting function, and enabling safe transportation. Seat height, width, and depth can all be changed, as well as the way the front wheels work, addition of backrests and wheelchair cushions, and controls can even be added to standard designs. People who have special needs often have custom wheelchairs built.

One can add a great deal of convenience to wheelchairs by adding in accessories like packs, and bags, carriers and holders, drink or cup holders, and even trays and push gloves. Human testing has been done by the United States Access Board (ATBCB) so as to study the amount of energy required for persons who may or may not have disabilities vis-à-vis negotiating outdoor surfaces. There are certain physiological parameters that were shared with design companies to design suitable wheelchairs and accessories. These parameters include heart rate, velocity and oxygen consumption as well as perceived exertion levels. Users who had greater upper extremity function wanted greater movement ability which is why they may exclude some accessories.

Cup holders are available at online retailers or wheelchair stores in the price range of $10-30. Most new mobility chairs do not have a cup holder. Most American front users see great utility in cup holders, even though some may see these as a trivial detail. Cup holders allow the comfort and convenience of being able to sip a cup of Joe or some other energy beverage, a luxury everyone should be entitled to.

With the passage of time there has been a much greater preference for electric scooters which can glide so well above a variety of surfaces. You can also have motorized wheelchairs where the folding ones can easily fit into the trunk of a car. Electric wheelchairs can also help those who have limited mobility for those who are advanced in years or perhaps for those who are quite infirm and physically challenged to a large extent.

There are many options in scooters which could be front or rear wheel drive ones with varying weight capacities, suspensions and also other possible options and choices. You can also have electric wheelchairs that can be used to hoist users above elevated surfaces by using the elevation option. Scooter users can also use arm tote bags to ferry stuff because it fits so easily with the arm of the scooter.

Those who have severe arthritis of the hip or severe neuromuscular disease can qualify to get up to 80% of the cost of wheelchair accessories reimbursed by Medicare. But Medicare generally does not bear expense for accessories that help in using wheelchairs outdoors. A doctor's note is required for the supplier to supply the product under the government program. If Medicare is your primary insurer, you will need to file the initial claim with them and get the balance reimbursed by your secondary insurer to completely cover all costs.

Movie theaters have also adopted the idea of catering to customer comfort. Instead of the old design of slightly inclined seating, these same theaters are taking a page out of the stadiums' book. Stadium seating generally involves a rear-entrance theater with a ramp behind a wall on each side coming down to the front, then stairs up the side to get to your seat. In this configuration, wheelchair users are often "allocated" seats in one of the front rows and are forced to look up at the screen from the seats that are generally chosen last by most movie patrons (although this too is also changing, as newer theaters are incorporating elevators to their primary screens for wheelchair accessibility to the top few rows).