Despite the sense of excitement that heralds any form of traveling, for most people, the traveling process can prove to be hectic. It’s even more stressful if you are traveling in a wheelchair. A slight adjustment or addition to your wheelchair can significantly improve your comfort. It gets even better because other than improved wheelchair comfort, nowadays, there are plenty of all-inclusive travel packages that you could take advantage of and enjoy the active lifestyle you’ve always wanted. Here’s a rundown of tips to help you make your wheelchair comfortable for a rewarding travel experience.
How to Enhance Wheelchair Comfort for Better Travel Experience
A clean well-functioning chair makes life easier for an active wheelchair user. It also goes a long way in making you self-reliant and, consequently, a more fulfilling inclusive travel adventure for you and your buddies. Check out the tips below to see how you can improve wheelchair comfort
Get a Folding Wheelchair
One of the biggest nightmares that you will ever face is having an airline lose your wheelchair. Such an incident can take away all the fun from your trip because not having the right chair can make even the simplest of all things, such as going to the bathroom difficult. So if you lead an active life and plan on taking on more inclusive excursions, then the easiest way to not find yourself in such a predicament is to get a folding wheelchair.
Folding wheelchairs are usually more lightweight and can easily fit in compact compartments. This means you can always request the cabin crew to keep your chair in the cabin during your flights. That way, you don’t have to worry about it getting damaged or lost.
Foldable chairs also eliminate the need for vehicle adaptations, which makes your life even easier, especially if you regularly use public transportation. Additionally, a foldable chair also promotes ease of movement as all four wheels tend to maintain contact with the ground.
Upgrade Your Backrest
A quality wheelchair backrest not only enhances the cushion’s ability to support pelvic stability but also decreases the likelihood of the advancement of postural abnormalities. It also prevents a host of other lower back injuries brought about by an unsupported back. In manual wheelchairs, it promotes optimal functionality and self-reliance by increasing responsiveness. Therefore, if you are going to indulge in inclusive travel, you will need a better backrest. Some of the factors to consider while choosing yours include.
1. The contour depth
2. The back support height and the width
3. Hardware, as well as accessories and additional supports.
Get those Bearings Checked and Replaced if Necessary
Wheelchair bearings play an essential role in allowing free wheel rotation around the axis. In other words, top-quality bearings reduce rolling resistance, and as a result, you use less energy while propelling. However, due to their role, these bearings tend to wear out fast and are the most frequently replaced item on most wheelchairs. The most obvious sign of damaged wheelchair bearings is a knocking or squeaky noise every time you propel your wheelchair. Therefore, if you are planning to take a vacation this holiday season, make sure you get the bearings checked and, if necessary, replaced, so you can have a smooth-sailing trip.
Upgrade to Off-Road Tires for Wheelchairs
Although all the smoothness, speed, and easy maneuverability of your chair depends on all its components, these factors are even more reliant on the wheelchair wheels. Therefore, if you are going to enjoy your next beach trip, it would be wise to upgrade to off-road wheelchair tires to enhance your movement and accessibility to these sandy areas. The good bit is that most off-road tires will often fit the standard wheelchair wheel. So you won’t need to buy a new set of dedicated rims. Upgrade your wheels today, so you don’t have to be left behind the next time your buddies are taking an off-road excursion.
Finally
Each part of your chair significantly contributes to its overall comfort as well as ease of mobility. A regular user may not notice this, but as an active user, you’ll always notice them. Therefore, always be on the lookout for high-performance wheelchairs and upgrades to improve your inclusive travel experiences.
