Archive for March, 2010

Wheelchair Fitness.

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Wheelchair Exercises and Fitness – If you spend long hours in a wheelchair you know it can lead to uneasiness and be very uncomfortable, which is true for anyone who is disabled. Keeping the body moving as much as possible in your wheelchair should be a regular part of your daily fitness program. Wheelchair exercise testing dates back to the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. However, this was not evident in the UK until the 1980’s when Lakomy and co–workers (1987) were the first to develop a system that allowed wheelchair athletes to perform exercise on a treadmill. Wheelchair exercise was performed on treadmill, and loaded velocity was preferred, and loaded slope were 0% and 6%. During wheelchair exercise with the optimum handlimb diameter, RPE and HR were lowest. Wheelchair athletes were tested on their racing wheelchairs that were fixed on a treadmill (this time while doing research in Germany) with a mobile lever arm. Exercise protocol started at a speed of 10 km/h and eventually reached an inclination of 0.7%.

Some advice for the individual is to start slowly and work up to more weight and then to more challenging exercises. An upper body workout would include exercises for the arms, torso, neck, and shoulders. Begin with 1-2 pound weights and work your way up from there. Starting from the head, one needs to touch their chins repeatedly to the chest and then proceed to doing head turns and head tilts to improve flexibility and strength in the neck. The number of repetitions is determined by the individual, keeping in mind not to overexert while doing any of the exercises.

Wheelchair equipment and accessories for home fitness, electric scooters, wheelchair scooters can be found anywhere on the web (including here). Most common are wheelchair lifts, wheelchair ramps, handicap walkers, scooter ramps, shower chairs, and pool lifts. Wheel chair lifts facilitate the movement of people making it easy, fast, and convenient. Among the different models of wheelchair lifts, the most popular are inclined platform lifts; vertical platform lifts; and portable wheel chair lifts.

Tips for safe and efficient travel.

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Most of us have taken one trip to several expeditions. Depending on your frequency of travel, changes are always occurring, so you might not be aware of them. Here are some tips collected from travelers who feel they are worth noting.

Pack all your coats and jackets in your baggage when possible. All coats and jackets must go through the X-ray machine for inspection, so if you don’t need it, pack it. This tip alone saves time. Pack socks and underwear inside your shoes. Not only does this save space but it will also help keep the shape of your shoes. Packing an over-the-counter pain medication like acetaminophen and diarrhea medication is also a good idea, especially when traveling south of the border. Should you plan to be outdoors, it’s a good idea to pack some over-the-counter allergy medication even if you don’t take it at home.

It is always better to conceal valuables and cash properly, so that you do not lose these. When staying in a hotel, use the hotel safe to store valuables, cash, credit cards, jewelry as well as your passport. When you travel with kinds, make sure that you carry a car seat for airline travel since all kids below the age of four, irrespective of their weight have to necessarily be seated in car seats. If you carry a car seat, you will be able to save on high rentals on these. These are also not charged by airlines for checking and work out quite economical. If you are carrying a pet, you will have to book the pet in the airline hold, along with a dish or bowl for water. Most vets suggest that you should not drug your pet during travel, as it could be harmful for your pet’s health.

There are many folks who suffer jet lag due to stale air, altitude, humidity and also state of general health. There are no sure-fire cures for jetlag though some measures can be taken to lessen the effects of jetlag. For one, it makes sense to drink a lot of water and avoid consuming alcohol and tobacco. You should know that too quick of elevation from low to high altitudes increases the incidence of jetlag. Similarly, if you want to ascend to the mountains, plan to stay at a place of intermediate height like Colorado Springs, Denver or Grand Junction, for a day or two.

In terms of clothing, you would do well to cart shorts and t-shirts for summer and heavier warm clothing for colder climes. Be prepared for wet weather too. Make it a point to drink lots of water and carry you own water bottle along. If you are traveling with kids, make sure you have toys and other amusements handy to help kids keep engaged and less cranky along the way.

Airport security rules have changed a lot in recent time, with certain travel accessories like scissors, eyelash curlers, nail clippers and tweezers out of bounds nowadays, in on board luggage. You cannot carry liquids and knives, mace and pepper sprays or firearms, kubatons, bats and the like on board. Some types of baby formula and medications are also prohibited. Do look up the TSA website to get a full list of items that you cannot carry any longer.

Updated list of Cup Holder Testimonials.

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Here’s just a quick list of our cup holder testimonials:

I am enjoying my “Nearly” Universal OH. It allows freedom to use my good arm without worrying about spills. Thanks for a great product. -Bob in Atlanta

I’ve used my “Nearly” Universal OH on several flights so far. In addition to working smoothly, it’s also sparked interesting conversations with fellow passengers and flight attendants. Thanks for this handy product. -Rosemary Vancouver, BC

I bought two to take with us for the New Jersey Nets games. They’re FANTASTIC! After initial set up it only takes three seconds to attach. -Michele from Saddle River, NJ

I use a Quantum 600 power chair and have wanted a cup holder that would actually work on it. Everything I tried would either hang to the side so I could not fit through a doorway, or was so loose, that the liquid pilled. The new OH-4 Industries cup holder is perfect! It attached to my chair easily and is very stable. No problem at all getting through doorways. This product is terrific! – Terry M. from Illinois

Excellent! Finally a cup holder that works on my powerchair! Thank you! – Mary C. from Cottage Grove, OR

Best cup holder I have ever seen! Have tried lost of others, but this one works! – eBay user marconilynx

Love it! Well designed and works great with all my mobility scooters. A+ – eBay user cruizin_suzan

I tried this on my Quikie with the round arm rests and it worked great.THANKS! – eBay user 980*250