Choosing The Right Wheelchair For You By Raquel Simons At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Most people are familiar with prescriptions from a doctor for medications, but not for mobility aids such as wheelchairs or even crutches. The process of choosing the right wheelchair can be especially difficult, because the types of options available are as varied as the types of people in the world and their various lifestyles.

Depending on what you do on a daily basis, you may need a chair with a pressure-relieving cushion, brake extensions, or other special options in order to make it effective. Since a wheelchair is designed to either fully provide or significantly add to your mobility, it’s vital that you get the right chair for you.

Unlike prescriptions for medications, which are very specific, a doctor’s prescription for a wheelchair often reads “a wheelchair”. This is partly because most General Practitioners are not experts in physical medicine and so they are not really qualified to make a suggestion as to exactly what type of chair you’ll require.

When possible, it is a very good idea to go through the selection process with a qualified physiotherapist or occupational therapist who knows what your daily routine and lifestyle look like so that they can help you get the chair that properly suits your needs.

Depending on what your requirements are, you may need to have your doctor write a somewhat specific prescription for insurance purposes. If you’ll be spending a significant amount of time in your chair, or if you have particular needs in terms of posture or support, these options can represent a considerable expense above a basic wheelchair system – for many insurers to provide payment, they require that these options be outlined by a physician, which means that you may need to have the prescription re-written by your doctor after an evaluation with a rehabilitation professional.

Although evaluations are not yet required by all insurers, most rehabilitation personnel consider them an absolute requirement – people always test-drive a car before buying it, and in the same way you should get to test-drive your wheelchair and have a professional opinion to ensure that it will do what you need it to.

Getting a professional evaluation before purchasing your wheelchair is the best way to ensure that you get a chair that will support you in doing what you need to do on a daily basis so that you can live comfortably and do the things that you want and need to do, so even if your insurer doesn’t demand one – insist on it!

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=63691&ca=Medicines+and+Remedies

Important Notice DISCLAIMER: All information, content, and data in this article are sole opinions and/or findings of the individual user or organization that registered and submitted this article at Isnare.com without any fee. The article is strictly for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used in any way, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional. We at Isnare.com do not, in anyway, contribute or include our own findings, facts and opinions in any articles presented in this site. Publishing this article does not constitute Isnare.com's support or sponsorship for this article. Isnare.com is an article publishing service. Please read our Terms of Service for more information.