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Electric wheelchairs

If you are facing a long term disability and are just beginning to sort through the many styles, brands, shapes and sizes of electric wheelchairs on the market today, how do you find what's right for you? Although the task may at first seem daunting, here are some suggestions to get you started.

Where to Start

• 1) Discuss the choices with an occupational or physical therapist
  
• 2) Determine your needs and budget
  
• 3) Review and compare options, brands and models

1) Discussing your choices with an occupational or physical therapistis a good way to get recommendations or to be put you in touch with others who have recently purchased a chair you are considering.

2) Next, determine your needs and budget, for example:

• What is the primary function of your chair?
  
• Is it mainly for indoor use?
  
• If you plan to travel out of the house, how far do you need to go?
  
• Do you have assistance, or are you on your own?

The above factors along with budget will help you to determine which wheelchair best suits your needs. Prices range from $1500 - $7500. If Medicare is your primary insurance carrier they may cover up to 80% of the costs (with your doctor's approval). If you are using another insurance company, you'll need to check with them.

Where to buy:
	A complete selection of power, travel and manual wheel chairs is available at SpinLife. Lowest prices on Power Wheelchairs and they bill Medicare!

3) Wheelchair review:

Once you've determined your budget and needs, start reviewing the different brands. Here are some Wheelchair manufacturers that offer great quality:

• Pride
  
• Invacare
  
• Jazzy
  
• Permobil
  
• Golden Technologies
  
• Teftec

Drive train:

Front, rear and mid-wheel drive: Power chairs come in different drive choices. Why choose one over the other? Again, this depends on your needs. Rear-wheel drive chairs are the most common: they travel at the fastest speeds and are the best choice if you need to get up steep hills. Front-wheel drive offers the best maneuverability, however, they run at a lower speed than rear-wheel drive models. Mid-wheel drive also provides a tight turning maneuverability, but can sometimes be a little unsteady during starting and stopping.

Wheelchair types

Similar to mobility scooters, you'll find a variety of types available; for example, those that are lightweight and designed to fold up for easy transport and heavier more sturdy electric powerchairs, designed for outdoor use. You will find that an electrical wheelchair designed with transportability in mind, may weigh less than 100 pounds and can be partially disassembled to fit into the trunk of your car. For tight spaces or narrow doorways these chairs can be quite useful.

Other power chairs, such as the powerbase chairs offer more suspension and are built with a low center of gravity to make the ride much smoother and more stable. But with these you'll need a van outfitted with a lift or a ramp to transport your chair. If you do need to travel long distances you can find power chairs to accommodate your needs. These are built with larger wheels and motors (and batteries).

Related Articles:

Electric Indoor Wheelchair Information

Pride Mobility's Jazzy wheelchairs

Wheelchair Batteries: Gel, Wet, AK?