Instead of putting in the final practice times before the conference gymnastics meet last week, your daughter was at the hospital for a final appointment before an ACL surgery on her right knee. And instead of enjoying time in the locker room surrounded by festive decorations, your daughter spent her time before the meet finding enough energy to sit up in the rigid wheelchair so she could at least make an appearance at the meet.
Life does not always go as planned and if you find yourself dealing with limited mobility after an injury, illness, or surgery you might also find yourself looking for a some kind of wheelchair. From wheelchairs that fold for easy transportation to a rigid wheelchair that can be used at work or in any kind of office, there are a number of options available.
Folding Wheelchairs and Rigid Wheelchairs Serve Different Purposes for People with Mobility Issues
In addition to dealing with discomfort and difficulty, another sad statement about the many people who find themselves confined to a wheelchair is the fact that people with disabilities reported earning 70% less annually than those without disabilities. For this reason, if nothing else, it is important to make sure that you have the kind of wheelchair that you need, whether it is for a short term rehabilitation process of a lifelong condition.
Build with different kinds of wheelchair hand rims and other kinds of modifications, different kinds of wheelchairs serve their best purposes in a wide range of different settings. For instance, wheelchairs equipped with wider tires are more easily used in outdoor spaces and other places where there are, while smaller rimmed tires easily and quickly travel across more predictable surfaces like linoleum.
Consider some of these other facts and figures about people with mobility issues and the impact they have on the income of the nation:
- In addition to those who use a wheelchair, 11.6 million people use canes, walkers, or crutches.
- Wheelchair use can be problematic as nearly 38.9% of people 18 years and older with disabilities in 2016 were obese.
- Nearly 3.6 million people over the age of 15 in the U.S. use a wheelchair.
- Making up 7.1% of non-institutionalized people with disabilities, more than 20 million people over the age of 18 have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.
- Indicating a continued increase, there are 2 million new wheelchair users in the U.S. every year.
- Fortunately, 98% of public transportation buses are appropriately equipped to accommodate people in wheelchairs.
Whether you are an injured athlete dealing with limited mobility following a surgery or you are someone who is looking at a lifetime of not being able to walk, there are a number of wheelchair options that can help you return to living a full life.