Wheelchair Seating Functions Was: Re: Synergy Seat

[Guest guest]

Hi Debbi and others who are interested,

I did a web search for Synergy Seat. There is

something called the Quantum Synergy Seat. Seems

like a seat with a manual reclining function, so

you can lay the back down. I would really have

an electrically reclining function though. Manual

ones are not that good for an EDS'er. Below I am

pasting a document about Pride's New Synergy

Seating System.

I think you should in general take a look around

at the http://www.pridemobility.com website. Look

at all the scooters and wheelchairs...

But there are some important questions you need

to ask before even attempting to pick a certain

model. They may all look very much alike, but I

promise you, the differences are huge. Compare

them...

- Where will you use it (inside malls, on even

ground, going over high curbs, going out in

nature, high hills, etc. etc.). If the answer is

yes to all these, it is important that you get

one with a good motor, big wheels, high

underneath (you can easily catch it underneath

and you will be STUCK)....

- Seating needs. What kind of seat do you really

need? In my not so humble opinion... All

EDS'ers need the very best in seating. Compare

with the seats they give really severely

handicapped people. Minus things like 4 point

safety belts and blocks of foam between the

thighs and such...

The Cushion: Remember to focus on the EDS

fragility issues, we can get problems much easier

than others, and many of us react very negative

to pressure on our connective tissues (see all

EDS'ers sitting like Ants on their chairs? Not

only because of all the painful joints, but we

often get such Pain in the Butt by sitting (!)

Many get red and sore from sitting, not even that

long. We should be considered as High Risk for

pressure sores, even if we don't sit all the

time. We need the relief of a good cushion. So

you should really have one with not only foam, if

you ask me (go to the best alternative the first

time!). You need one with either gel/foam combo,

air, air/foam combo, one of the new ones that

works like the air ones but they are filled with

some foamy stuff instead of air... Something " up

that alley " , if you understand what I mean.

On my Chairman, I have the following: Under the

seat the base is not solid metal, but has wide,

elastic bands providing some cushioning in

itself. The cushion is a special foam with the

" butt area " filled with " balls " with some

gel-foamy stuff which works like sitting on an

air cushion like Roho, only it is more stabile.

Some EDSers don't like the air cushions that much

because it is not stabile, the air moves around.

But you can get newer type ones with lots of

independent chambers, so that the air can't move

around too much. In my Chairman, the combo of

the special base and the seat cushion with the

pressure relief system, makes it so much easier

to sit, and I don't feel the need to move around

all the time. The seat cushion is not one of

those square ones, it is a proper car seat like

cushion with the pressure relief system built in.

It is covered with the same velour as the rest of

the seat and the back, but where your butt is,

the seat has elastic jersey fabric, which is

important in order to let the seat conform to

your body.

The back of the chair: It is high, but has been

cut to fit my body length. This is important,

because it lets you get full use of the neck

rest. Behind the padded cover, it is built up to

follow the contours of my body. They have pieces

of Styro-foam (?) and things like that they use

for this. Since my back is... what do you call

it? Sway-backed / hollow-backed or something like

that? Hyper-lordosis? Anyway, I have a real hard

time getting enough support. So the back of my

chair is built up by these hard foam pieces as

well as a rectangular cushion (like the ones they

have on the air planes), all this hidden behind

the padded seat cover (the back of the chair has

a hard plastic backing which has lots of velcro's

on the inside which you can use to attach

different supports). A good option here is also

to have an air lower back support, so that you

can let the air out when you lay the back down,

as the sway gets more flat when you lay down. We

managed to find just the right support by

building it up though, and I am very happy with

it. Also it has pieces which provide side

support, which I also find important in order to

sit comfortably. The seat I have looks a lot like

a car seat, but it is sort of neater, not that

huge. Here they often use Recaro car seats on

wheelchairs too, but hey are huge... This back I

have, you can also get in two parts. Then when

you take the chair into a car and your car is

low, you just pop it apart. Very easy, nothing

fancy at all.

Neck rest: At the top of the back, I think it is

important to get a good neck rest. But of course

it depends on your individual need. Anyway... So

many of us have a hard time with our backs and

necks, and then the neck rest is important. To

look for options, it is a good idea to look at

the Jazzy accessories, they have a lot of great

neck/head rests. They have a lot of good seating

options in general. Also have a look at their

back which has an extra " joint " high up, so that

you can tilt it forwards to talk to people while

laying down, watch TV etc. That back is GREAT!

But back to neck rests. I think it is important

to find one that at the same time supports your

neck properly and also supports the head side

wise (it has a bend at each side, so that your

head can't slide to the side). That function I

associate the most with multi-handicapped people

who can't hold their head at all. But when your

neck is super painful, this is really useful

because you don't have to have your muscles

super-toned at all times to prevent painful

movements when you e.g. drive over a little stone

or hole in the ground. So it is really useful.

Even if you don't get a Jazzy chair, a good

technician can adapt a Jazzy neckrest to another

chair so that you can get the proper neck rest.

Too many neck rests are not useful at all, they

only keeps your head from swinging backwards. Of

course that is important, but for us it is not

enough at all. A completely flat neck rest is not

enough for us, if you ask me.

Arm rest: Of course the seat should have

armrests. These should also be padded. Also ask

for small bags attached on each side to carry

necessities... It is often better to get the ones

from that company, rather than some generic ones.

E.g. Permobil has bags that attaches under the

arm rest, so that you won't have any annoying

straps on the padding....

Foot rests: This applies only to power chairs,

not scooters. I have foot rests which goes up and

down electrical, both to make it easy to get out

of the chair and to let you have your feet up

high if you need that. i often use them up high

if my knees act up. I have separate foot plates

at the bottom, but they could just as well have

been one wide plate. To me it doesn't matter. One

thing that does matter though, which many forget,

are the calf rests. These are important when you

are laying down in your chair. Without these you

won't be able to rest your legs properly. They

should be padded.

Seat functions:

I have all seat functions electrical, no manual

ones at all. This was chosen for me because joint

protection is important, so it is not only a

question about whether you can do it manually or

not.

Reclining: To be able to recline the seat is very

important for an EDSer with back and neck issues.

That way you can get the weight off your spine

whereever you are. My seat reclines only to 45

degrees, but I find that to be enough. Why? Read

further down.

Tilt: Together with the reclining function, this

is really important, I think. It helps you shift

the distribution of weight and strain, which is

really, really useful. Many prefer having a

slight tilt when they sit upright and maybe drive

quite fast, you sit better and more safely back

in your seat, it is not that easy to fall out of

the chair in case of a sudden stop... But it is

also a fantastic way of shifting the weight from

" down your spine " to your " back plate " if you

understand what I mean. The tilt function lets

the seat itself change angle. Mine only goes

backwards. But even with a seat back that

reclines a bit, together with the tilt you can

get a wonderful resting position. It is like

having your good recliner from your living room

with you all places. That is just wonderful for

an EDSer, no doubt about that... With a recliner

back that goes to 45 degrees, and using the tilt

at the same time, I can lay flat down with my

back, but with an angle in my hips and my feet up

high. That is the best resting position I can

get... Safe for my SI joints too because of the

angle in the hips and knees. So I really can't

recommend tilt enough...

" Lift " : You can get a seat base which takes the

seat up higher. Very useful while shopping, you

can reach things on the highest shelf in the

stores. I also use this when I am out, to get up

to bar level. So many bar's and pub's have not

only the bar itself up high, but also tables with

bar stools. So when I use this function, I get up

to the level of the others. I also use it when I

am talking to really tall people, to reach their

eye level. This is really useful and also helps a

lot if you feel self consious (sp?) about sitting

" down there " while others are standing. You can't

drive around like this though, the chair will

automatically go slower because the chair can tip

over much easier... So it is something you use

while standing there or just to get something and

take it down again. I find it especially useful

when I shop, because I will normally have a

basket on my lap. If I was to get up, which I

normally can do, I would have to lift the heavy

basket down on the floor and up again. Now that

is not good...

Safety belt: A rolling safety belt should be on

all such chairs, if you ask me... Especially if

you don't have any tilt, this can be really

important. Should you hit a small stone while

driving quite fast, it could easily send you

flying out of the chair... On my Trax I always

use the belt (no tilt on the seat), on my

Chairman I don't use it that often...

Oh well... I am sure I forgot something...

I had a look at the Jazzy chairs at

pridemobility.com, and got a bit confused because

they looked a bit different from the Jazzy's I am

used to seeing here. Especially did I notice

that none of them had real leg rests, which I

find important for us, because we often need to

get our feet up, let the knees get a rest etc. If

my knees are especially bad, often when I am

travelling and can't get the good rest I get in

my electrical lift recliner I have at home, I use

an extra pillow under my knees in the chair. I

have never seen any wheelchairs have a function

which can meet that need. But a pillow does the

trick. Often when I travel, I have a round one

which the PT's often use (got it from my OT

friend), with me. That one is really neat for

that. Or I take one of the pillows from the hotel

bed. The round ones and triangular foam ones, you

can get in stores which carry foam mattresses

etc. They cut it to the length you prefer. For

use in a wheelchair or scooter it would be the

same width as the chair seat.

I went to the Norwegian web site for the dealer

of Jazzy chairs, and noticed that they just

called the most common one MC Jazzy, with no

numbers after it. I do know they carry different

models though, that I have seen in their showroom

and catalogue. But as I could see from the

picture, they can probably attach leg rests on

the ones in the US, it just doesn't come with it

as standard. The ones the one I saw had, was

fastened on each side of the seat base. The one I

have on my Permobil is neater, i think, because

it is not so obvious and huge, as it is fastened

in the middle, with the calf rests sticking out

on each side of the middle steel base. That way

the chair is much neater and not that bulky in

the front, and it looks sort of sportier, I

think... But I think things like that much boils

down to your own preferences and good, old

taste... Just like with clothing... We like

different things...

But for you, Debbi, I really think you should

look into getting the very best seating on the

scooter. Also maybe you could ask the

manufacturer if they could think out a solution

for giving your feet better resting options,

since these chairs have no leg rests (neither has

my Trax, those chairs just don't have that)...

Ooops, note that I use the word chair a lot. I am

not differing between chairs and scooters all the

time. I consider them all as different variants

of wheelchairs... If you took a look also at the

Jazzy chairs at the web site I mentioned. Imagine

one of those with a sleek, sporty looking, good

seat. Not those boring grey pleather ones...

Don't you think they look less " handicapped " than

many of the power wheelchairs? At the conference

in W-S, somebody had the Jazzy in a pretty, dark

green metallic paint. It was so neat and good

looking...

I have been a bit curious. I am sure you US guys

can answer my question... The past few years it

seems like a lot has happened in the " wheelchair

department " in the US. The first conference I

went to, in 1998 everybody except one from

Canada, had power wheelchairs that were more like

old fashioned manual ones with batteries and

joysticks. With velcro backs and ordinary

wheelchair cushions. Or they had scooters. In

2002 several had more " funky ones " , with better

seating systems... Is it getting more common to

get more advanced wheelchairs now than it used

to? Has the insurance companies and such gotten

better in covering things? I really hope so,

because it sure makes a difference in your every

day life. I can't imagine sitting in a chair with

a " stretched velcro back " all day...

I wish I could have brought my power wheelchair

when I go to the US, but that won't work. My

power chair is very heavy and requires a van. I

can't afford having to rent special cars while

there. Also after the conference I am going to

visit people and things would not work with that

chair. But my manual chair is neat and really

good to sit in, but there's no options of resting

while using it. But for me that chair is a whole

lot better than e.g. a power chair with a seating

system like I mentioned above with a velcro back

and such. Because even if it is a small, manual

one, the Jay Extreme back it has, really supports

my back well. But you have to sit up straight and

all that... For a manual chair that kind of chair

is my only option though. I could never push

myself at all in another one. I have thought a

bit about maybe looking into getting the E-Motion

help motor where everything is built into the

wheels. The only problem is that it can't be used

with a camber angle on the wheels (where the

wheels " go inwards " ) more than 5 degrees. My

chairs have 6 and 8 degrees... Maybe I could give

it a try with the one that has 6 degrees...

Hmmm... If I should consider that for this trip,

I sure have to think about it really fast... I

will be travelling a lot this year, even to South

Africa... Will be travelling a lot these next

three years because of the presidency in the

NPA... Hey, Debbi, look what you did... You got

me thinking here!!! I have thought of it before,

but haven't gotten to it. But when you start

thinking things through like I did now, things

start spinning, he-he... I tell you what, I think

I will contact my new OT. I talked to him on the

phone a while ago, but I haven't met him yet....

Remember, under the sig line is the Synergy Seating info...

hugs,

Aase Marit

At pridemobility.com I also found the following

text which I hope answers your question:

<<Pride's New Synergy Seating System

The Most Versatile Seating System Available

EXETER, PA - Pride Mobility Products Corp.,

Exeter, PA, is proud to introduce its new

Synergy Seating Systems.

The Synergy seating system from Quantum Rehab

provides unrivaled flexibility and versatility

that can grow with the client.

The Quantum Synergy seating allows easy

adjustments of the seat height, width, and depth,

as well as back and set angles. Several width

and depth adjustment packages range from 10 " to

24 " , adjustable in a 4 " range with no need for a

new seat pan. The back height is available from

14 " to 24 " , while the back angle adjustment is up

to 12 degrees

The seating has a weight capacity of 500 pounds

and is available with flip-up, removable quick

adjustable or heavy-duty armrests.

With a removable solid seat pan base that

provides a stable surface, the Synergy Seat

easily accepts a broad range of specialty seat

and back cushions for the individual's comfort,

positioning, and pressure management.

The seat is available on all Quantum Blast,

Jazzy®, and Dynamo® power chairs.>>

>Does anyone out there know that Synergy Seat means?

>

>

>Debbi

>

>

>