Increase footrest height
The footrests on the wheelchair were too low, even on the highest setting. To overcome the back pain caused by the low footrests, she used the edge of the shopping basket as a footrest. Resting feet on the thin edges of the basket was very uncomfortable.
Could the footrest be raised?
The solution
x
The stem supporting the footrest was a square steel section with adjustment holes in it.
A temporary wooden footrest was clamped to the existing footrest and adjusted until it was found comfortable.
A new steel section was created that continued the adjusting holes to cover the height that was measured. A smaller steel section was then welded inside the new footrest stem so that it would fit in side the existing stem.
The basket and footrests were removed and the new stem inserted and bolted into the existing stem. The footrests were then bolted onto the extension stem.
Although it had been decided that the basket could be removed completely, it was found that a section could be removed, enabling the basket to be reinstated.
The benefit
No more backache.
Such a simple solution, why don’t manufacturers have items like this as optional extras?
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