Physical aids or mobility aids are devices that disabled or injured people to walk or improve their mobility. These devices help the patients for example to prevent falls, relieve the weight of a leg injury, or provide a motorized system of mobility if the patients are unable to walk. There are many types of mobility aids available that are designed based on a person’s needs. Sometimes a patient may hire a physical therapist to teach them how to use the mobility aids to ensure the mobility aid is properly fitted to the right height and position including physical therapy exercises to improve the muscle strength in the arms and legs. Daily living aids are part of your health essential items that you need to store in your house to monitor your current health status.
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Physical Aids May Be Useful for the Following Medical Condition:
- Arthritis and gout
- Cerebral palsy
- Handicaps
- Diabetes is associated with ulcers and sores
- Difficulties to maintain equilibrium
- Lower limb fractures or fractured bones
- Walking difficulties due to brain injury or stroke
- Blindness or visual impairment
- Other disabilities
What are the Examples of Types of Mobility Aids
Canes
A walking cane is designed to provide postural stability and assist a body posture balance by uplifting the weight from the leg to the upper body. However, a walking cane is not created for full weight support but instead to help with mobility. Walking cane comes in different sizes and shapes such as fashioned, classic, t-shaped, offset, crook, or ergonomic. The most important is to teach the patients how to utilize the walking canes to ensure safety, because incorrect usage of walking canes may result in injury.
Walking Frames
Walking frames are designed for individuals who have balance issues and need support on both sides of the body. Walking frames comes with three or four legs depending on how much stability a person needs. The rubber is attached to each side of the leg providing some grip on the ground while holding the frame in place. Generally, walking frames are used by people who are recovering from an injury or having difficulties balancing their body. However, there are some limitations to using walking frames such as restricted manoeuver outdoor on uneven surfaces.
Crutches
Crutches are a type of walking aid that is used to increase the size of a person’s base of support. It reduces the pressure by transmitting the weight from the legs to the upper body which is frequently used by patients who have short-term injuries such as loss of limb, amputation, or lifelong disabilities. There are several types of crutches such as axillary crutches, lofstrand crutches, and platform crutches each serves the same purpose but has different needs.
Wheelchair
Who is in need of a wheelchair? A wheelchair is typical physical aid that provides support to the lower body in an upright position and has commonly been used by people with disabilities and sudden loss of mobility such as people who get a stroke, cerebral palsy, or chronic autism. These people require a wheelchair to mobilize themselves while the walking aids may not be suitable to support the movement. However, utilizing a manual wheelchair needs patience and sometimes can be challenging because the patients may depend on others to help them to move the wheel. In the beginning, they may feel overwhelmed to perform physical tasks such as getting in bed, going for a shower, and moving a long distance. However, they may feel tireless once they familiarize themselves with the routine. Currently, there are specialized wheelchairs available for people with mobility dysfunction such as the neural impulse wheelchair which has been designed in 2016 mainly to help patients who are suffering from locked-in syndrome (LIS), in which a patient is aware but cannot mobilize or verbally talk due to paralysis.
Rollator
Rollators are suitable to be used indoors and outdoors for patients with limited upper body strength such as arthritis or who suffer from mid and lower back pain. Rollators should not be utilized to support body weight because it is easier to slip if too much weight is put onto the frame. However, it comes with hand-operated breaks to ease the user. It is easy to maneuver but it is a hassle to transport into the car or public transport. Get your vaccination.