For those who are striving towards walking again or aiming to keep their mobility levels and maintain there overall health there is a vital need to be upright against gravity regularly. When I am asked to review individuals rehabilitation programs an area that I always seem to address is the amount of time spent sitting, whether this is in a wheelchair or if walking is just very difficult so tend not to be up.
There is many reasons behind the need to have an individual up against gravity and you may have already heard of the terminology the “sitting disease” that the media and the health care world are using to describe the huge health care crises of the modern lifestyles lack of activity. Here is just a few reasons why standing is so beneficial;
- The bladder and bowel of gravity based organs – so to help with them functioning effectively and to reduce the risks of urinary tract infections and constipation standing is vital
- Stimulation to the vestibular system – inner ear and brain area for balance
- Stimulation of the cerebellar – an area of the brain important in movement generation and coordination
- Muscle, joint and connective tissue range of movement
- Bone density – reducing the risk of fractures
- Psychological benefits – being up and talking to people at eye level.
However it can be difficult to get up into standing if you do not have the strength or you need to use a standing frame that is in a room at home and you are out and about all day. This is way designs like the Levo standing manual wheelchair are so useful, like anything there are pro’s and con’s the current draw back about this wheelchair is its weight however I am sure that is something that Levo are working on reducing. Watch this video to see Lee demonstrate how it works.
