Manual wheelchairs

Wheelchairs with a reclining backrest

This feature is useful for -

ï anybody who has weak muscles in the upper body or a stiff spine or hip and cannot sit up.

• anybody who cannot stay in the same position all the time.

• anybody who has trouble breathing

• anybody who, because of their treatment, needs to be in a reclining or semi-reclining position. The user must also bear in mind that some chairs only offer a semi-reclining feature.

- Space

With the chair in the reclined position and the legs elevated the chair is very long and therefore unwieldy. The space in the house needs to be taken into consideration for manoeuvring such a chair.

- Propulsion

• Even if they are equipped with self-propelling wheels, these chairs are too heavy for the user to propel and so will need someone to push them.

• In the reclined position, negotiating kerbs is almost impossible.

- Reclining mechanism

If the reclining mechanism can be user-operated, the user will need to have good upper body strength because this design require the user to sit up before moving the backrest. If it is carer operated, you need to check whether the user has to get out of the chair before the backrest can be moved.

- Legrests

Some legrests can be operated by the user so that they can sit up with their legs straight. The majority are attendant operated.

- Transporting in a car

Due to the high backrest and weight of these chairs it is virtually impossible to transport them in a car.

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