Walking

Temporary duvet support

An 81 y-o woman had a Total Hip Replacement (THR). Since she already had home improvements in place (hand rails on stairs and doors, saddle boards removed, radio button alarm, 24/7 carer) she was released from hospital after four days – the only thing she needed and was given was a Rollator (wheeled walking frame, Zimmer frame). She found that the duvet on her bed restricted her movement, and a duvet support was requested for the period of her recovery. A length of 1/8 inch fencing wire was bent to shape and a brass ferrule with two grub screws was made in order to secure the ends of the wire.

Drag brakes for rollator

The client had difficulty controlling her rollator on sloping ground where it tended to run away with her because she did not have the strength to apply the brakes for extended periods. A light weight rollator with drag brakes was bought and modified to allow the drag brakes to be operated without having to bend down.

Walker stability

A 9 year old boy with cerebral palsy uses a Lecky walker for mobility. As he has grown, the walker is no longer sufficiently stable when he is moving around outside. The project was to angle the large wheels of the walker like a sports wheelchair to increase the track width and improve stability.

Boggy board for electric wheel chair

small attachable boggy board for child to ride on when she gets tired

adjustable cuffs for crutches

Cuffs (which contain the upper arm) on crutches only come in two sizes- standard and bariatric . The standard cuff can be stretched to fit moderately large arms but what about large arms which do not require a bariatric fitting? My client was 20stone with an arm circumference of 48cms. The standard cuff was just tolerable when wearing a shirt but not possible when going outside with a coat on. A simple modification employing a narrow strip of aluminium allowed the cuff to be expanded for normal usage which could also be extended further for outdoor usage with coat wearing. Afterwards the cuff could be easily compressed back to its previous size. This helped his mobility and mental health issues (due to improved social interactions) .

crutch for shortened forearm

Our client had a (congenital) shortened left forearm (without hand) and required a walking aid for use with her left arm to relieve pain in her right hip whilst waiting for a joint replacement . After experimenting with fitting a “socket” to a rollator and then a gutter arm crutch, a modified elbow crutch was found to be best -improving her mobility and relieving the pressure on her right hip and consequently her pain. In due course this device would also be essential in her post-op rehabilitation when she would require the use of two crutches.