Course Description
Significant exposure to vibration (whole body vibration – WBV) has been linked to a variety of adverse health conditions in able bodied workers exposed to WBV during occupation. For individuals in wheelchairs, WBV can not only have an adverse effect on comfort, ride quality and energy expenditure, but the WBV these individuals experience in their chairs can contribute to pain, degenerative conditions, interference with ADLs, increased spasticity and other negative health consequences.
Wheelchair manufacturers have attempted to mitigate the detrimental effects of WBV through a variety of approaches in the past. However, much of the technology has been insufficient to meaningfully dampen the WBV a person in a manual wheelchair sustains. This presentation will discuss the issues associated with WBV for the manual wheelchair user, the pros and cons of some of the remedies that have previously been used, and the unique application of design principles and materials that allow for dampening WBV.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course participants will be able to:
• List 3 detrimental effects of whole-body vibration (WBV) on the manual wheelchair user
• List 3 locations or components on a manual wheelchair where manufacturers have attempted to reduce the
transmission of WBV to the user
• Describe 2 benefits of successfully reducing whole body vibration (WBV) transmission to the manual wheelchair
user
Course Instruction Details
Course Audience: Dealers and equipment suppliers, Clinicians (OT, PT, COTA, PTA) Course Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Course Length: 1 Contact Hour
CEU’s Offered: .1 CEU
Minimum score on post-test for proficiency: 60% (3 out of 5 answers correct) NRRTS course ID: KI_CL04.12.19
Product related follow up to “Good Vibrations: Can Manual Wheelchair Design Principles Mitigate the Adverse Effects of Vibration?”
Good, Better, Best: A Comparison of Ki Mobility Rigid Chairs
Session Description
This session will be a comparison of our 3 ultralight rigid chair options, the Tsunami, Rogue, and Ethos. We will look back at principles covered in Good Vibrations as well as the course on How People Actually Use Their Manual Wheelchairs and discuss how they apply to each chair. We will look at the innovative new Ethos and how it uses Isolation Technology to both shield the rider from the harmful effects of vibration while at the same time allowing an unparalleled ease of adjustment.
Session Objectives – Attendees will be able to:
• Name the material used in the Tsunami and Rogue to give them excellent stiffness at a light weight
• Describe the caster journal adjustment capabilities of the 3 rigid chair models
• Describe how center of gravity adjustment on an Ethos differs from a traditional rigid chair
• Identify 2 ways to change the weight distribution over the wheelbase of the Ethos