Wheelchair comfort

[dawnball]

My mom will be in a wheelchair for the first time on our next trip. We're renting an offsite manual chair, and I'd like to make sure it's comfortable for her. She's small (both short and lightweight) so I'll make sure we adjust the footrests to be the right height. I'm getting her a cupholder and I'm looking for a good back support pillow since the seat pan will probably be too deep. Is there anything else you'd recommend?

Mom's fine indoors on flat, smooth, well-lit surfaces and walks 5+ miles every day but struggles in poor lighting or on uneven surfaces. I'm guessing she'll be up and down quite a bit at first, then will be in the wheelchair more as the trip goes on. I appreciate that many of you will suggest a scooter/ecv, but we're not doing that.

 

[SueM in MN]

ECVs are not right for everyone - very personal decision.

Check with the company you are renting from to make sure the footrests can actually be adjusted - most of the rental ones I’ve seen are pretty basic and can‘t be.
Width is also important - since most have a sling seat, the rider may not have any place to brace and might tip to one side or the other.

I have no experience with these since my daughter has her own custom wheelchair, but Amazon has some seat backs for strapping on office chairs that might work.
Some of them have ‘cut outs’ and contouring for the seat that might not work because they wouldn’t decrease the depth of the seat. They might work with a pillow behind them or just a pillow strapiped/attached on the chair somehow might work.

 

[dawnball]

Check with the company you are renting from to make sure the footrests can actually be adjusted - most of the rental ones I’ve seen are pretty basic and can‘t be.

Width is also important - since most have a sling seat, the rider may not have any place to brace and might tip to one side or the other.

I have no experience with these since my daughter has her own custom wheelchair, but Amazon has some seat backs for strapping on office chairs that might work.
Some of them have ‘cut outs’ and contouring for the seat that might not work because they wouldn’t decrease the depth of the seat. They might work with a pillow behind them or just a pillow strapiped/attached on the chair somehow might work.

Oh, thanks for the heads up on potential lack of adjustability. I'll reach out now, while we can still easily make changes.

An office chair back rest plus some padding seems like the best option for decreasing seat pan. I might be able to tuck an ice pack in there too, which would be good for the heat.

 

[lanejudy]

If she’s petite, also check if the vendor has different size chairs. Some have smaller seat sizes than others.

 

[Groot]

Check with the company you are renting from to make sure the footrests can actually be adjusted - most of the rental ones I’ve seen are pretty basic and can‘t be.
Width is also important - since most have a sling seat, the rider may not have any place to brace and might tip to one side or the other.

Yeah, most rental manuals are the “Grandma Special“, barebones wheelchair that likely DOESN’T have ANY adjustability whatsoever. To be able to adjust the footrest height, the chair either has to have what’s called “Front Mount“ Hangers (this type has the holes on the legrest) or “Extension Tube” Hangers (where the ”Tube” inside of the legrest telescopes in/out).

I have no experience with these since my daughter has her own custom wheelchair, but Amazon has some seat backs for strapping on office chairs that might work.
Some of them have ‘cut outs’ and contouring for the seat that might not work because they wouldn’t decrease the depth of the seat. They might work with a pillow behind them or just a pillow strapiped/attached on the chair somehow might work.

Also, if she has any hip problems, I’d suggest that she gets a seat cushion too as sitting in a wheelchair that has a “sling style” seat can get uncomfortable near the end of the day and it’ll feel like she’s sitting on the frame of the wheelchair.

 

[gap2368]

the pusher might want gloves to prevent blister

 

[SueM in MN]

Yeah, most rental manuals are the “Grandma Special“, barebones wheelchair that likely DOESN’T have ANY adjustability whatsoever. To be able to adjust the footrest height, the chair either has to have what’s called “Front Mount“ Hangers (this type has the holes on the legrest) or “Extension Tube” Hangers (where the ”Tube” inside of the legrest telescopes in/out).View attachment 763887

View attachment 763888


Also, if she has any hip problems, I’d suggest that she gets a seat cushion too as sitting in a wheelchair that has a “sling style” seat can get uncomfortable near the end of the day and it’ll feel like she’s sitting on the frame of the wheelchair.View attachment 763899

I was also thinking of a cushion, but that will make her sit even higher.
It may not be as important for her as some people since it sounds like she will mostly need it for dimly lit or uneven surfaces.

the pusher might want gloves to prevent blister

Your Milage May Vary - the only time I actually got blisters pushing my daughter’s wheelchair was when I was wearing gloves. They made my hands sweaty, which led to blisters. So, if you do choose to wear gloves, keep watching for blisters

 

[KPeterso]

We have a cushion for my Mom's wheelchair. She finds the uneven surfaces uncomfortable when riding in the wheelchair, and the cushion does help. She is 5'1" and about 130 pounds so not very big. Her wheelchair has an 18 in seat, and she is very comfortable in it.

 

[midwestdee]

the pusher might want gloves to prevent blister

Good suggestion! I’ll bet gardening gloves would be a good option.

 

[jo-jo]

Good suggestion! I’ll bet gardening gloves would be a good option.

When I was pushing DH at disney, I used bike gloves. And now, even though he uses a scooter, i still carry them . There are a few rides that he needs to switch to a wheelchair. I feel they give me better grip on the handles.

 

[midwestdee]

When I was pushing DH at disney, I used bike gloves. And now, even though he uses a scooter, i still carry them . There are a few rides that he needs to switch to a wheelchair. I feel they give me better grip on the handles.

Bike gloves , good idea! Keep in mind many gardening gloves have the gripper material too. Having that grip help is essential!

 

[ttintagel]

If the seat is plastic/vinyl, she may want a towel or something to sit on if she's wearing shorts.

 

[sarabguerra]

My petite teen in my profile pic is an occasional WC user. She's 4'8" tall and about 110#. We rented an 18" chair from ScooterBug last year. She was pretty comfortable in it. We did put a towel on the seat for her. It was February but it was over 90* that week, and she was just too sweaty! I think the seat was a sling style but it was mesh and very strong, so it didn't dip too much under her weight. She just didn't like the texture. I don't remember her having issues with the footrests being too low. But looking at the picture, I think they were slightly adjustable.

We have another trip planned for 2024. She'll need the WC again. She requested a thin cushion for the seat, a cupholder, and gloves so she can push herself without getting her hands gross.

One thing that we did with her chair that helped a lot - we added bike wheel lights to the wheels. This way, in the dark people could see her! The first night people were literally walking into her. She got a lot of compliments and in Batuu she got the best interactions with CMs!

 

[mamabunny]

Good suggestion! I’ll bet gardening gloves would be a good option.

Personally, I recommend biking or golf gloves - you really just need to protect the palms.

Sue is correct - for some folks, gloves don't matter. And some wheelchairs now have nice foam-padded handles for the "pusher". Back when I wrecked my hands, we were using a rental that had the old, shiny black hard plastic "contoured" handles.

Have a great trip!

 

[Sacahara]

My petite teen in my profile pic is an occasional WC user. She's 4'8" tall and about 110#. We rented an 18" chair from ScooterBug last year. She was pretty comfortable in it. We did put a towel on the seat for her. It was February but it was over 90* that week, and she was just too sweaty! I think the seat was a sling style but it was mesh and very strong, so it didn't dip too much under her weight. She just didn't like the texture. I don't remember her having issues with the footrests being too low. But looking at the picture, I think they were slightly adjustable.

We have another trip planned for 2024. She'll need the WC again. She requested a thin cushion for the seat, a cupholder, and gloves so she can push herself without getting her hands gross.

One thing that we did with her chair that helped a lot - we added bike wheel lights to the wheels. This way, in the dark people could see her! The first night people were literally walking into her. She got a lot of compliments and in Batuu she got the best interactions with CMs!

View attachment 765735

Do you have a link for where you got the lights? Thank you!

 

[DisneyOma]

I love these cushions - love them so much I have 4 of them in the house, and 1 in each car, LOL! When I have to sit for extended periods, or on a hard surface, these are lifesaving. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KF9P5FZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think they would work well for a wheelchair user as well?

 

[sarabguerra]

Do you have a link for where you got the lights? Thank you!

My father actually purchased them for my son years ago and we never used them on his bike. I packed them on a whim one trip. They look like these https://www.amazon.com/Brightz-Whee...-14-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1

 

[Sacahara]

My father actually purchased them for my son years ago and we never used them on his bike. I packed them on a whim one trip. They look like these https://www.amazon.com/Brightz-WheelBrightz-Bicycle-Wheel-Accessory/dp/B00GT86H68/ref=sr_1_14_sspa?crid=AGON79O38ECA&keywords=bike+wheel+lights&qid=1687213247&sprefix=bike+wheel+lights,aps,1220&sr=8-14-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1

Awesome! Thank you!