A few years ago the expression “disabled” started to become politically incorrect. For one thing, many people who were categorized under this heading did not like it and for another, many felt that they were “able” to do everything that an “able bodied” person could do.
On the face of it the last statement seems slightly optimistic, however with adaptations, changes in rules, and Hi-Tec equipment, even someone in a wheelchair can play just about any sport.
30 years ago wheelchairs were nearly all the same, the only defining difference was that some were motorized. But things have changed.
Today you can buy not only sports wheelchairs, but wheelchairs dedicated to specific sports like basketball or tennis. These wheelchairs have strong yet lightweight designs, incredible dexterity and manoeuvrability and they have features that make them purpose designed for a specialised sporting application.
One of the best examples of a wheelchair sport is also the oldest, i.e. basketball.
Wheelchair basketball has actually become a separate sport in its own right and it is even played (in wheelchairs) by able bodied teams. The wheelchairs are light, very strong and have leg and front body guards that wrap around the lower front section of the frame. Their rear wheels slope outwards from top to bottom to provide extra stability, and they will have one or two extra castor wheels at the back of the frame to prevent the wheelchair from falling over backwards during sudden acceleration.
This sport has been played for several decades and it remains the most popular attraction at the Paralympics and other international sporting events. Wheelchair basketball also has its own set of rules that make it very different from normal basketball. For one thing direct contact is allowed and impacts, crashes and injuries are common.
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Bathroom help - useful aids
As we get older using the bathroom and the various items of furniture within it can become more and more of a problem.
Stepping in and out of a bath, standing for several minutes in a shower, leaning over a wash basin and using a toilet can all be taxing and physically demanding activities.
These same tasks can be a difficult for anyone with a physical disability or anyone who has a large build.
In short, the bathroom can easily become something akin to an obstacle course for someone without the benefit of youth and good health.
Solutions
Despite what may appear to be the bleak picture painted above, a bathroom can easily be made less of a challenge by adding numerous aids and modifications, all of which make its functional furniture easier to use. For further information about these aids continue reading below.
Here are some examples of the bathroom modifications that can be made.
Walk in baths are one of the most useful items for anyone finding the process of getting into a bath a problem. They have a side door that opens to a leave a step over ledge that is only a few inches above the floor level. These baths have to be filled when the bather is in the bath, however they have fast fill and fast drain systems to speed things up.
Chairs, seats, stools, rails and steps are excellent additions to a standard bathroom that need not cost the earth, but that can make a bathroom easier to negotiate. Rails can be positioned at strategic points around the bathroom, inside showers and adjacent to toilets and wash basins, whilst seats can enable showering and washing to be done whilst sat down.
Steps can be an aid in getting into a high base level shower and grab rails can be fixed either side of a toilet and next to a bath.
As well as standard seating, a seat can be a part of another item of bathroom furniture.
Two good examples are lift-seats for toilets, where the seat can be raised or lowered by remote control using an electric motor, and a bath seat. Bath seats (also known as bath lifts) can enable someone to sit down on the seat on the bathroom side of the bath, then swivel so that they are above the bath, before being lowered down into the bath. The reverse motion allows them to leave the bath, and all powered by an electric motor. A cradle device can fulfil the same function.
Cushions along with protective and impact absorbing floor surfaces can all have their place inside a bathroom. All can add comfort, or protect against serious injury in the event of a fall. They also add a sense of security and confidence to the mind of the person using this important room.
For anyone looking at a completely new bathroom fit-out for a mobility restricted person, options can include a shower toilet that provide a hygienic washing system and even body driers that blow jets of warm dry air as a substitute for a towel.
Commodes may be able to offer a solution when it becomes necessary to bring the toilet to the individual and not the other way around. These may sound unpleasant, but modern commodes are hygienic, easy to empty and easy to clean. Some will even double as shower chairs which makes them a practical solution for two different challenges.
Stepping in and out of a bath, standing for several minutes in a shower, leaning over a wash basin and using a toilet can all be taxing and physically demanding activities.
These same tasks can be a difficult for anyone with a physical disability or anyone who has a large build.
In short, the bathroom can easily become something akin to an obstacle course for someone without the benefit of youth and good health.
Solutions
Despite what may appear to be the bleak picture painted above, a bathroom can easily be made less of a challenge by adding numerous aids and modifications, all of which make its functional furniture easier to use. For further information about these aids continue reading below.
Here are some examples of the bathroom modifications that can be made.
Walk in baths are one of the most useful items for anyone finding the process of getting into a bath a problem. They have a side door that opens to a leave a step over ledge that is only a few inches above the floor level. These baths have to be filled when the bather is in the bath, however they have fast fill and fast drain systems to speed things up.
Chairs, seats, stools, rails and steps are excellent additions to a standard bathroom that need not cost the earth, but that can make a bathroom easier to negotiate. Rails can be positioned at strategic points around the bathroom, inside showers and adjacent to toilets and wash basins, whilst seats can enable showering and washing to be done whilst sat down.
Steps can be an aid in getting into a high base level shower and grab rails can be fixed either side of a toilet and next to a bath.
As well as standard seating, a seat can be a part of another item of bathroom furniture.
Two good examples are lift-seats for toilets, where the seat can be raised or lowered by remote control using an electric motor, and a bath seat. Bath seats (also known as bath lifts) can enable someone to sit down on the seat on the bathroom side of the bath, then swivel so that they are above the bath, before being lowered down into the bath. The reverse motion allows them to leave the bath, and all powered by an electric motor. A cradle device can fulfil the same function.
Cushions along with protective and impact absorbing floor surfaces can all have their place inside a bathroom. All can add comfort, or protect against serious injury in the event of a fall. They also add a sense of security and confidence to the mind of the person using this important room.
For anyone looking at a completely new bathroom fit-out for a mobility restricted person, options can include a shower toilet that provide a hygienic washing system and even body driers that blow jets of warm dry air as a substitute for a towel.
Commodes may be able to offer a solution when it becomes necessary to bring the toilet to the individual and not the other way around. These may sound unpleasant, but modern commodes are hygienic, easy to empty and easy to clean. Some will even double as shower chairs which makes them a practical solution for two different challenges.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
