Electric Mobility Scooters

Even with the best treatment, rheumatoid arthritis can slow you down. That’s why a good treatment plan doesn’t stop with just medicine and exercise. If you start to have trouble with everyday activities, help is available.Assistive devices are products and tools that can make life with rheumatoid arthritis easier. These simple devices let you continue to cook, clean, get dressed, bathe, and move around with relative ease.Assistive Devices to Help You Get Around

• A cane or crutch used on the opposite side of a painful knee or hip makes walking easier and makes the joint last longer.
• Braces and splints provide support to joints and decrease strain.
• Reachers are long rods with a grip handle on one end and pincers (like a claw, used to grab) on the other. They let you pick up small objects without having to bend over or reach uncomfortably.
• Elevated chair legs make it easier to get in and out of your seat. The chairs you have can usually be fitted with extenders.

Assistive Devices for the Bathroom

• A tub bench or shower seat lets you bathe more comfortably and reduces the chance of falls. Nonskid shower mats will make the tub safer, too.
• Grab bars make it easier to get in and out of the bath.
• A raised toilet seat with side rails reduces the strain of getting on and off.
• Long-handled sponges help you to wash your legs and feet without bending. Also, large sponges are easier to grip than washcloths.
• Easy-to-pull shower curtains are better than heavy shower doors.
• An electric toothbrush with a fat handle is easier than a regular toothbrush.
• By putting a seat in front of your sink you can avoid leaning forward; the same with using a freestanding mirror for grooming.

Wheelchairs Abound offers a variety of reachers for people with disabilities, and extremely important and helpful item, but one that is often overlooked. These help give disabled individuals more freedom and allow them to perform many tasks on their own. Here are some examples of reachers available:

• Bed rope ladder: helps those with paralysis or general weakness to pull themselves into a sitting position
• Dressing stick: assists in putting on shirts and jackets, pulling up pants and skirts, and removing socks
• Leg lift: helps lift legs into different sitting positions, or into a wheelchair
• General reachers: have a “hand” at the end that can be used to pick up items; they come in a variety of lengths

There are many different types of reachers to assist people with functions of everyday living.  The most versatile type is probably the Raptor, which is just made to pick things from the floor or down from a high shelf.  

There are also reachers that assist users in dressing, lift their legs, sit up in bed, or put on stockings, empowering people with limited mobility to be more self-reliant.