How to properly adjust a wheelchair?

1. Suitable wheelchair seat length/width Seat length

After the patient sits in the wheelchair, the front edge of the seat cushion is about 6.5 cm away from the popliteal fossa.

2. Seat width

After sitting down, our legs should be 4cm from both sides of the chair. Proper Armrest Height for a Wheelchair Proper armrest height helps maintain correct body posture and balance. With the arms adducted, the forearms should be placed flat on the armrests when sitting and the elbow joint should be flexed between 90° and 120°. It is normal. If it is raised, it will rise passively, which may cause fatigue and discomfort; if it is too low, it will be detrimental to balance.

3. The height of the wheelchair

Under normal circumstances, when a patient is seated in a wheelchair with both lower extremities on the footrests, the distance from the heel to the popliteal fossa plus 5 cm is the height of the wheelchair (5 cm is the distance from the pedals to the floor).

4. Choice of backrest

For patients with high paraplegia due to spinal cord injury, the backrest height should be at shoulder level or occipital height. The backrest of normal wheelchairs is generally short or low, which means that the upper edge of the backrest only reaches 2-3 cm from the lower edge of the patient's shoulder blade, to allow the patient's trunk a greater range of support. motion.