{"id":107,"date":"2020-07-02T20:26:03","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T20:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisonmedicalrental.com\/blog\/?p=107"},"modified":"2020-07-02T20:26:04","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T20:26:04","slug":"should-you-propel-or-not-propel-your-wheelchair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/madisonmedicalrental.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/02\/should-you-propel-or-not-propel-your-wheelchair\/","title":{"rendered":"SHOULD YOU PROPEL OR NOT PROPEL YOUR WHEELCHAIR?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have ever imagined how\nmany strokes does someone need to propel a manual wheelchair in a single day?\nThere is no exact figure, but what we can say is that it needs a lot of strokes\nto propel a wheelchair. It may take between 2,000 to 3,000 strokes per day.\nHowever, doing a repetitive activity as such can endanger the user and lead\nthem to develop tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome as well as impingement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is facing a risk?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case you take your\ntime and think about the stress that is being applied to your upper body part\nevery day while propelling your wheelchair, you might end up wondering how\nlucky you are to have come this far without experiencing any other injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using a wheelchair\ndoes not only involve repetitive hand and shoulder motions, but it involves\nother activities such as loading\/unloading the wheelchair, wheelchair\ntransferring and several other activities for your daily life. This puts your\nspinal cord at a greater risk due to the fact that your arms are operating in\nan entirely different manner to fill in the gap of your lower injured section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being in a wheelchair\nmeans that you have fewer muscles that you can rely on, hence those fewer\nmuscles are always active hence having to undergo extreme stress than they\nshould. For example, in order for someone who is suffering from a spinal cord\ninjury along  his\/her wrist level or  chest level, he\/she will be using he\/his arms\nto perform any activities that were supposed to be handled by the legs. This cause\na lot of strain and stress upon the joints which were not meant to experience\nsuch amount of stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normally the common\nrepetitive use injuries are formed along the shoulder and wrist. Normally the\nwrist injury is the carpal syndrome which leads to tingling or numbness.\nInjuries that occur along the shoulder are normally tightening or impingement\nthat is around the shoulder capsule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should not just\nblame only the wheelchair use for these injuries. In case you are using\ndifferent muscles when it comes to dressing, transfer or bathing, that means\nthat those muscles are being used as an alternative and they are being stressed\nbeyond their normal use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is aging connected\nto injuries <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just think about the\n2,000 stroke  performed by a wheel chair\nuser in each single day. Then  think\nabout the fact that as the number of strokes increases so does your risk of\nexperiencing a repetitive use injury. This is why repetitive use injury poses a\ngreat concern as the wheelchair user ages. When you start to age, your flexibility\nas well as strength are compromised. Besides, there is a complete\ntransformation that occurs in your body as you begin to age and this poses a\ngreat risk of having repetitive use injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, repetitive\nuse injuries does not mean that you have to totally switch from using a manual\nto a power wheelchair. There is room for modifying your wheelchair so as to\nreduce the rate of transfer, and this can significantly reduce the amount of\njoint stress. For example, driving while sitting in your wheelchair can help in\nreducing the number of transfers needed in a single day. Besides, using a\nmechanical lift can simplify the transfer process while reducing the amount of\nwork involved in the transfer process..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many manual wheelchair\nusers who have managed to maintain high level of wellness and have remained\nbeing successfully throughout their lifetime. According to Dr. Ulmer, it all\ndepends on someone\u2019s lifestyle, goals as well as his\/her personal preferences.\nBesides, any prior injuries before your SCI will affect your ability to propel\nyour wheelchair for long term. Also, the age at which you were, when you\nunderwent the SCI, how you were trained in using your upper extremities for\nyour wheelchair propulsion and the nature of your daily activities will also\naccount to your wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it is also normal\nfor to opt for a power chair so as to conserve your energy and prevent any\nchronic pain. A power chair will help you to overcome many issues that arise\nfrom using a manual wheelchair. Besides, you will be able to maintain a certain\nlevel of freedom and independence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case you need a wheelchair,\nyou can opt for a power wheelchair for outdoor movements especially when\ncovering long distances and community outings, while retaining a manual\nwheelchair for indoors or when covering short distances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preventive measures<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are different\nways that can help you to minimize the risk of experiencing repetitive use\ninjuries while keeping yourself in a good healthy condition that will enable\nyou to propel even when you are aged. These are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n