Author: Mongi Mamlouk

Hip and knee surgeries are simultaneously a source of hope and anxiety. On one hand, we hope they will cure our chronic pains and bring our mobility back. On the other hand, rehabilitation can seem too imposing an obstacle. Normally, your health specialist should be able to inform you about all that pertains to your surgery. Once back home, you will need a list mobility aids, hygiene aids and daily life assitance tools to facilitate your recovery. Take some time before your surgery to evaluate your personnal needs and prepare yourself in advance. That way, you won’t need to shop at the last minute.

Canes, Walkers and Other Mobility Aids 

After hip or knee surgery, you won’t be able to walk normally for a few weeks. Although your recovery should be swift, you will need a walker to move around your home in the first days. A simple walker, equipped with wheels and skis, will let you walk while relieving your injured leg. After your leg has recovered enough, a walking cane can serve the same function. 

Take care to notice the obstacles present in your home. For example, you probably won’t be able to climb up and down stairs during the first few days. It is then possible that you won’t have easy access to your bed and bathroom. In such circumstances, renting a hospital bed and acquiring a commode chair would let you sleep and relieve yourself without taking any risks with the stairs.

Reachers, Sock Aids and Other Dressing Aids 

You might be recovering from surgery, but you will still need to dress yourself. With hip replacement surgery in particular, it is important to avoid leaning and bending over, and bringing your knees towards your torso. With that in mind, you will need tools to put on pants and socks. A reacher is a versatile tool that lets you pick up objects from the ground and helps you with dressing yourself. Sock aids are a tool that helps you put on socks. By rolling the sock or stocking on the aid, and then by pushing your foot through the opening while holding the straps, the sock should roll onto your foot. Shoehorns can also assist you in putting on and removing your shoes without leaning over. 

Toilet Seats, Long-Handled Scrubbers and Other Hygiene Aids

Hip or knee surgery recovery can take a few weeks. Even though you will mostly be resting, you will still need to wash yourself and use your toilet. While a commode chair is a good solution for the first days of recovery, you will be able to go to your bathroom soon enough. During the recovery of both hip and knee surgeries, a raised toilet seat and safety frame are useful. For hip surgery in particular, since it is important that your knees never bend higher than your hip when sitting, raising the seat of your toilet might be necessary. For knee surgery, the safety frames will help you stand back up without leaning on your injured knee. 

To bathe yourself, you won’t be able to stand for a very long time, especially if you’re balancing on a single foot. A shower stool, set at the right height, will let you sit down when washing, preventing fatigue and pain caused by your surgery. An anti-skid rubber shower mat is also useful, potentially preventing a disastrous fall. For the bath, since you won’t be able to securely stand back up, you will need a bath bench. Comfortably seated on such a bench, you will be able enter, exit and wash yourself with a washcloth or a handheld shower  

Finally, there is a long list of products designed to facilitate your recovery. Take some time before your surgery to figure out your particular needs with regards to mobility, dressing and hygiene. That way, you will be able to anticipate the challenges you might face during your surgery recovery. You can also pay us a visit at Équipements Adaptés MCL, where we will be able to help you figure out what tools you really need. 

Here to find your Mobility, Comfort and Liberty!

Of all the rooms in a house, the bathroom is easily the most dangerous for everyday life. The springiest of youths risk serious injuries in the event of a nasty fall in the shower or bathtub. All too often, such injuries can significantly degrade the quality of life for an elderly person. A hip or femur fracture can sadly lead to diminished autonomy, which can then lead to medical needs making home care impossible. Prevention is your best option here. 

Let’s start with the bathtub. This big water reservoir, soothing source of comfort and cleanliness, can quickly become a trap for those with limited mobility. First, the surroundings of the tub and its interior can be slippery when wet. Then, the sides of the bath can be treacherous to step over. Finally, it can be an strenuous task to stand back up from the bath from a lying position. 

How Can You Secure the Bath and Its Surroundings ?

The surroundings of the bathtub can be made safer by the installation of wall-mounted grab bars. But where should you install the bars to provide the safest support when taking a bath or a shower ? The answer might seem banal, but it is really that simple: put the bars where they will be easiest to grab. Generally, a vertical bar can be placed at elbow-height on the wall along the edge of the tub. A second bar is placed on the wall opposite to the entry point of the bath. That bar can be placed horizontally or diagonally to provide multiple angles of prehension. In any case, a well-positioned grab bar will provide you with a sturdy point from which to hold yourself in and around the tub. Furthermore, in the event of a fall, they might just give you the chance to catch yourself, preventing the worst injuries.  

That said, the best bars are screwed into the wall. While some suction-cup bars are available, they really are only useful to assist with the balance of the user, not to support their whole weight. If you were ever to grab unto it while falling, it is probable that the bar will detach itself from the wall. 

How to Safely Step Over the Side of a Bathtub ? 

The riskiest moment of taking a bath is that moment when you step over the side of the tub. Balancing on a single foot, stepping on wet acrylic, it is prudent to have something to hold on to. A wall-mounted grab bar can provide that support, as could a bath safety rail. Depending on the shape of your tub, it might be possible to affix a safety rail directly on the side of the bath. Such a handle gives you a sturdy grip while preventing the need to drill through your bathroom walls to install bars. 

It is also possible to circumvent the need to walk over the bath in the first place by using a bath board or a transfer bench. A bath board is installed directly on top of the tub. A transfer bench is a legged bench that has half of its length sticking out of the bath. Both options provide you with the ability to sit from the outside of the bath to then slide inside the tub.  

How Do I Stand Up from a Bath Safely ?

In order to reduce the strains of standing back up from your bath, a few solutions could be implemented. First, we could remove the need to sit at the bottom of the tub. With a legged bath chair, you would be comfortably seated at a right height to make standing back up easier. The main inconvenience of this type of chair is the fact you won’t be submerged in water, meaning you will have to wash yourself with a hand-held shower or a sponge.

A bath lift is a bath chair with a motor designed to lower you to the bottom of the tub and then lift you back up. Activated with a hand controller, you will be in control the movements of the chair as it lowers you in and out of the water. At the press of a button, you will be brought back up to the edge of the tub, from where you can stand out from it. The side-flaps provide a similar use to a bath board, from which you will be able to slide in and out of the tub without having to step into it. These bath lifts cost more than regular bath chairs, but for long-term home-care, they are worth it. 

Finally, there are many options to adapt and secure your bath and bathroom in order to reduce the risk of falls. With all these solutions, you will be able to protect your autonomy and health in the comfort of your home for much longer. 

Here to find your Mobility, Comfort and Liberty !

What could be more pleasant than a stroll in the park ? With the warm sun on your skin, a cool breeze through your hair, one can admire the scenery and enjoy the fresh air. But as time moves on in our lives, it is possible your legs no longer let you walk over long distances. A rollator is the ideal tool for these situations. With its four wheels and seat, one can take a rest whenever fatigue sets in. Beyond the specifications of the rollator itself, one needs to carefully consider the way it is used. The adjustments, usage and maintenance all have a drastic impact on the usability and choice of your rollator.

How to Adjust a Rollator ?

To truly enjoy your rollator, it needs to be comfortable. To provide the best comfort, the rollator needs to be adequately adjusted to your size. Obviously, as no two people is the same, there is truly no single formula for each and everyone. But each can find their comfort by following these simple tips and trics.

Firstly, the handles need to be at the right height. If they are too low, we’ll be inclined to lean forward on the handles, or to have our elbows in a hyperextended position. If the handles are too high, we’ll have a tendency to push the rollator as if it was a shopping cart, meaning it won’t provide any support. It is also possible that we keep our arms folded up, pushing our shoulders upwards into an uncomfortable position. Ideally, we adjust the handles by standing upright while looking far off to the horizon, and letting our arms fall alongside the body. The handles should reach the wrist bone, or where a watch bracelet would be. 

How to Walk With a Rollator ? 

Once the rollator is adjusted accordingly, you simply have to put one foot before the other. No ? Not quite. 

To keep a good posture when walking with a rollator, it is important to keep its handles close to the hips. That way, we can sturdily brace oneself in the event of a loss of balance. Furthermore, if we keep the handles too far away from us, it is possible that the rollator slides on the ground, even if the brakes a correctly engaged. Finally, holding the handles too far away encourages us to lean forward, rounding our back. This is both uncomfortable, and can lead to complications with regards to our posture. 

Beyond the positioning of the rollator relative to us, we need to be careful of the surface on which we use it. A rollator is appropriate for relatively smooth surfaces, such as cement sidewalks, asphalt walkways and well-maintained trails. However, grass, sand, loose gravel and snow make walking very difficult with a rollator. 

How to maintain a rollator ?

With a little luck, you’ll enjoy your strolls often enough that you’ll start to wear out your rollator. Generally, the brakes are the first to need repairs. Usually made of steel, the brake cables eventually stretch out and the wheels no longer lock in place after prolonged use. We can usually tighten the brake cables with the adjustment bolts near the wheel. Then, and especially if you go out during winter, the wheel bearings can fill with gunk and rust. When that happens, the rollator will be harder to push, and might even roll towards a particular side.  

To walk safely and comfortably and enjoy the outdoors, you can’t just buy any rollator. You have to take care to use your tools the right way. Here at Équipements Adaptés MCL, we know that the right rollator is more than its specifications sheet and its price. This is why we will teach you how to properly adjust, use and take care of your rollator. If you ever need repairs to be done on your rollator, it will be our pleasure to repair your it right here in our shop. 

Here to help you find Mobility, Comfort and Liberty

With spring around the corner, it’s time to start considering leaving your winterly cocoon and enjoy the warm sun and fresh air. It’s an unfortunate reality that some people suffer from health conditions precluding them from enjoying the warm weather during a lovely stroll at the park, or at the mall. If one can’t walk for very long, a mobility scooter is an excellent tool to bring back your freedom to go outside. 

Mobility scooters are wonderful vehicules, available in a myriad of sizes to fit as many particular needs, all distinct from one another. From this, it might seem difficult to parsoose through the many choices offered to us. As you will soon see, there is a single attribute that influences your choice : Size. It denotes it’s use, it’s range, the places it can be driven in, and it’s price. 

Where Can I Drive my Scooter ?

Each model of mobility scooter is designed to be used in a specific context. For indoor use, electric wheelchairs and small scooters are ideal. For outdoor use, we mostly recommend bigger scooters, which have a more comfortable seat and suspension, as well as bigger batteries providing greater range. 

Electric wheelchairs are motorized seats designed to be agile and fit through cramped spaces, such as inside an apartment. It shares many of it’s uses with a manual wheelchair, and in some ways serves to replace the legs of it’s user. Small scooters are often foldable, or can be easily disassembled, making them handily carried inside a car. As such, they can be very useful when going to the mall or inside large buildings. 

Big scooters are designed to provide the best range and comfort for the rider when going on outdoor strolls. With their bigger wheels, better suspension and seating, these scooters are ideal to go around parks and on bike lanes or trails.

For those hoping to use their scooters both inside and out, some intermediate-sized scooters are available. These scooters are a compromise between the other two categories. They are neither foldable nor can they be disassembled, but they are compact enough to be safely driven indoors. They don’t have the range, nor the comfort of bigger, more luxurious scooters, but they still have adequately sized batteries and suspensions to bring you some autonomy and comfort when driving on sidewalks.

How Do I Maintain my Scooter ?

The size of your scooter will dramatically influence the amount of maintenance you will need to provide to it. Smaller scooters usually have solid puncture-proof tires, and the battery packs are generally detachable, making recharging them easy. Furthermore, it’s small size usually means you’ll be able to store it inside your home without cluttering up the space too much. 

Bigger scooters need greater care. Such vehicles are often fitted with pneumatic tires. Those need to be reinflated often, otherwise they will wear out faster, putting you at risk of flats. The batteries need to be fully recharged at every use. Even with a greater range, leaving batteries without a full charge will wear them down faster, reducing their lifetime and efficiency. Furthermore, the large size of such scooters mean they need an adequate storage room, or properly equipped shed. 

How Much do Mobility Scooter Cost ?

If you intend to buy a mobility scooter, keep in mind that the size of a scooter has a significant impact on it’s cost. With exception of electric wheelchairs, which have their own pricing scale based on their options, the bigger a scooter is, the more luxurious and costly it will be. 

Generally, you can find a small-sized scooter for around three thousand dollars, including batteries and necessary accessories. An intermediate-sized scooter, capable of a range of at least 25 km, starts at around five thousand dollars. Finally, bigger scooters capable of the greatest of comfort and longest of rides can reach prices of over seven thousand dollars. 

How to Choose ?

To choose the right scooter, you have to evaluate your particular needs, as well as your means. Here, at Équipements Adaptés MCL, we suggest that you consider what we call the “80-20 Rule“. Think of the usage you will need of a scooter 80 % of the time, and pick the right scooter for that use. The other 20 %, the scooter will be less handy, but this compromise will save you from having to buy a second vehicle. 

In any case, it would be our pleasure to guide you through your search. Don’t hesitate to peroose the fact sheets of the scooters we have to offer, and to contact one of our specialists to learn more about the scooter that best fits your needs.

Find Mobility, Confort and Liberty !

At the heart of your living room, the right chair can provide you with great comfort while watching television, or better yet, while reading a good book. But if you struggle to get in and out of your chair, a power lift recliner might be the right solution for you. With it’s motorized seat, these chairs work for you as they prop you up until you can easily finish standing. That way, you don’t have to exhaust yourself standing up, and prevents you from collapsing in it when sitting. 

A lift chair is generally a bit more expensive than a regular chair. Although most can find the right chair for about two thousand dollars, some lift recliners can cost up to three thousand dollars. With that in mind, it is paramount that the chair you buy be the best one for you. It needs to be the right size, to have the right functionalities, but more importantly: you need to like it. 

How to Pick the Right Size Lift Chair? 

People come in all shapes and sizes, and so do lift chairs. Often, people choose recliners which are too large for them. This can make it challenging to use and cause chronic discomforts. The right width of a lift chair seat is the width of your thighs plus a single hand. This prevents the seat from being too narrow, making it too tight, and also prevents it from being too wide, where you might sit in a crooked position. To find the right depth, when sitting upright at the complete back of the seat, you should still have the room to pass a finger between the inside of your knee and the end of the chair seat. For the height, it is important that both your feet be sturdily and flat on the ground when you are standing up. The backrest should also be high enough to adequately support your head. The footrest, when extended, shouldn’t reach your heels, as it should reach up to your Achilles’ tendons. All these measurements will help you in finding the perfect chair for your size, providing both comfort and safety. 

Which Lift Chair Model is the Right One?

Beyond the size of it, lift chairs are available with different functionalities. All of them will lift you, but some of them have options that can either bring you additional comfort, or needless complexity. The single-function lift chairs have their lifting and reclining mechanism on a single motor, meaning both the backrest and footrest move at the same time. The double-function chairs have their footrests and backrests independent of one another, meaning they can be adjusted separately. The quad-function lift chairs have additional motors in the backrest. This means the footrests and backrests are independent of on another, and the backrest itself has adjustable cervical and lumbar cushions. All these functions provide you with a custom-fitted positioning. But remember: who says more functions also says more buttons on the controller. While a single-function’s hand controller only has two buttons, a quad-function one has ten. 

If you plan on sleeping in your chair, some can recline far enough backwards to provide a comfortable sleeping position. If necessary, some can even reach the Trendelenburg position. With the right model, you’ll be able to find the comfort that you deserve. 

In what Colours are Lift Chairs Available? 

Once custom-fitted to your needs, the right chair would be in a colour that you like. All our lift chairs are covered in fabric. Leather is not an adequate cover for these types of chairs, as they are too slippery when lifting up. As for the colour, our chair manufacturers like Pride, Golden or Elran provide a few choices for every particular models. The delivery delays can vary depending on the availability of each. 

As you have noticed, there are many measurements and decisions to take before buying a power lift chair. To help you make the right choice, take advantage of our expertise by paying us a visit at Équipements Adaptés MCL. Here, you’ll be able to try out some of our models to find what power lift recliner best fits your needs. Our experts will also be able to answer any questions you might have, and assist you in making your choice, so that you find your comfort.

What should you look for when buying a used mobility scooter ?  

 Buying a brand new mobility scooter can seem to expensive for a retired person. Buying a used one might be more affordable, but be warned : It’s only true if the scooter doesn’t need repairs. For a wise purchase, make sure you know what you are buying. 

 How much is the mobility scooter worth ? 

 Firstly, make sure you know precisely what you are looking to buy. Note down the brand and model of the mobility scooter. Some manufacturers don’t distribute spare parts, making them impossible to repair. Some scooters aren’t actually mobility scooters but electric mopeds, which can’t legally be used in the same way. It is also useful compare the value when new, so you can negotiate a reasonable price. At Équipements Adaptés M.C.L. Inc., we have a great choice for new mobility scooters. Check with us for the value of the scooter you’re looking for. 

What is the mobility scooter’s history ? 

Secondly, it can be important to know the history of the mobility scooter. Is the scooter being sold by the person using it, or by their family ? Obviously, the person using it knows the most about it’s wear and the way it has been driven. Sadly, many mobility scooters are sold by the family when dealing with their succession. In these cases, the seller might not know the vehicule. Furthermore, it is important to make sure the scooter doesn’t have the Ministerial Program’s attribution plaque. Those scooters are issued and belong to the government of Quebec. 

Do the scooter’s tires need replacing ? 

Thirdly, take a close look the tires and body of the mobility scooter. Depending on its use, the scooter’s tires might need to be replaced every year in order to prevent flats. Inspect the rubber close to the rim. If it is cracked or fissured, the tire has dried and has a greater chance of breaking. If the thread is worn down, the tires need to be replaced. Keep in mind scooter pneumatic tires cost around one hundred dollars a pair. Flat-free tires cost about double. The body of the scooter denotes the maintenance and storage of the mobility scooter. A broken shroud generally speak of a negligent or carefree usage of the scooter. In the worst cases, a broken structural frame can show the scooter was in an accident and might entail other defects. 

How much are the mobility sooter’s batteries worth ?

Finaly, check up on the electronic components and the batteries. The electronics are easy to inspect. Simply try all the accessories such as horns and blinker lights. The batteries generally have a normal lifespan of two years, but can quickly break down if badly maintained. Often, if the mobility scooter has been in storage, and not enough care was put into it, the batteries can be significantly damaged and need to be replaced. The batteries need to be fully charge once every other week to maintain their longevity when in storage. Changing batteries costs a few hundred dollars, depending on their amperage capacity. For example, 100 AH batteries cost three times as much as 30 AH, for a replacement costing over a thousand dollars. 

Is it worth it to buy a used scooter ?

As you’ve noticed, the potential repairs on a mobility scooters can mount up to a substantial amout. It is therfore important to find the value of the model when brand new, to know if the parts are available, and to find out the condition of the vehicle. Sometimes, the model is discontinued and the parts are no longer available. Othertimes, the parts are simply not sold by the manufacturer. In these cases, avoid buying the scooter, as you won’t be able to repair it in the future. 

Have us inspect what you want to buy.  

We can provide you with further expertise. Here at Équipements Adaptés M.C.L. Inc., we can inspect the mobility scooter for you, and perform a complete test of the batteries. We’ll inspect the tires, the body and the batteries, so you know with great detail precicely what is due to be repaired on the scooter. We’ll tell you the age of the scooter, and whether or not the parts are still available for that particular model. In other words, we can tell you whether or not the mobility scooter is worth what is asked for it. 

Can a mobility scooter be used during winter?

It is best to avoid doing so. Mobility scooters aren’t designed to be used during the winter season. While no laws prohibit their use, mobility scooters should be thought of as bicycles; since their tires don’t grip well to icy roads, it is easy to become bogged down.  

A mobility scooter is not a car! Without a heating system, the glacial Canadian winds will no doubt freeze you. It is best to stay safe and warm. 

Note : Some people need to use their mobility scooter all year long due to their particular condition. In that case, we recommend you take an appointment with our repair workshop here at Équipements Adaptés MCL Inc. for a preventive lubrication and battery check-up. You wouldn’t want a malfunction while driving through snowbanks! 

How to prepare a mobility scooter for storage?

It is recommended to perform a general maintenance of your mobility scooter before putting it to storage. You can take an appointment with our workshop here at MCL. You can have us lubricate the wheel axles of your scooter in order to prevent rust accumulation. 

A battery check-up will also tell you if and when your batteries are due to be changed this spring, or if they can be kept for another year. Plan 48h for a complete charge test of both batteries of your mobility scooter. 

How often do the batteries need to be charged?

During regular use, it is recommended to charge the batteries after every day of riding. That way, the batteries never fall to low in their charge and you protect their durability, while guaranteeing a full charge for the next day’s sortie.  

In storage, the vehicle has to be charged every two weeks, whether it has been used or not. Even inactive, the electric charge of your batteries leaks within the internal connections of your mobility scooter. It is important that your batteries never become completely discharged. Recharging your vehicle every two weeks, you maintain a minimal quantity of electricity within your batteries, providing them a greater useful life. 

Can I leave my mobility scooter plugged on its charger all winter?

No. Your charger is a smart charger, meaning it will stop the electric current sent to your vehicle’s batteries once they become fully charged. At this point, it won’t restart on its own. You should instead go to your mobility scooter once every two weeks to plug in your charger for a full night’s charge. 

Do I have to charge the batteries I removed from my mobility scooter? 

If the batteries are fully charged before removing them, it isn’t necessary to recharge them afterwards. The batteries need to be stored in a dry and temperate place, and not directly on cement. It is usually simpler and better to leave the batteries in the scooter and charge them regularly. 

Where to store your mobility scooter?

You can store your mobility scooter in a shed or a garage during winter. Make sure you have an easy way to charge your batteries regularly. It is not recommended to store your mobility scooter outdoors; the electronic components could be damaged by the cold and humidity of our harsh winters. 

If you don’t have a secure and safe place for your mobility scooter, you can always check to lease a storage unit from one of the many companies out there. That way, you could store and maintain your scooter in a secure and dry space all through the winter.

Winter is finally here with it’s great white coat gradually covering everything in sight. While the trees, leafless, shiver in the cold, commuters honk away their melodies upon the Jacques-Cartier bridge. We repeatedly remind drivers to be careful on the winterly roads, but what about pedestrians, holding snuggly to their coats and pulling on their hats? 

The sidewalks, covered by an immaculate sheet of snow, can often hide ice sheets. These treacherous traps wait only the careless passers-by. One can prevent against the dangers of such seasonal foes.

Safety soles for sturdy standing!

Skating is fun, but only if you’re wearing skates. As in anything, the right tool for the right job is a necessity. If you intend to walk outdoors during winter, many tools are available to prevent you from become an impromptu figure skater.

Since cars have winter tires, why not have pedestrians wear winter soles? Icer’s has created just that. Their safety soles can be worn with any winter boot. It’s sturdy straps will tie the soles to your boots, and their cleats bring you the sure-footing you need. Find the right size for you here ! 

An icepick for a four-season cane

While some already use a cane to assist them to walk during the warmer seasons, it can be worrying to use it on icy sidewalks. How can you stabilize it better during the winter season? You don’t need to change your cane for a new one with intergrated ice pic, we can add an icepick on it.

While you have already spent some time to find and purchase the right cane for you, you might just not have pick one with an integrated icepick. You don’t need to buy a new one, just for the outdoors. Come by MCL and have an icepick attachment installed upon your trusted cane. These icepicks can be flipped up and down, meaning you can safely use them both outdoors and indoors. Or get the Activator rehab poles and go on safer winter walks and hikes!

How to get out of a car?

During the colder seasons, many prefer the comfort and warmth of their cars to a chilly walk outside. However, getting safely in and out of your car can sometimes be arduous. 

For a sturdy grip to ease entry and exiting of a car, use a Handy Bar. Such a bar will give you a sturdy handle so that you can plant both your feet safely before standing up. Easily inserted inside the U-shaped door striker latch, this bar holds up to 500 lbs. 

The Handy Bar can be combined with a swivel cushion to further facilitate your entry and exiting of your car. The cushion swivels under the user, easing the turn and reducing the strain on the hips and lower-back. 

This winter, please be careful. Many tools are available to help you prevent nasty falls and facilitate your mobility. Don’t wait for a regrettable incident to sour your winter. Contact us at Équipements Adaptés MCL Inc. So that we can answer all your question with regards to your safety this winter. 

Have a great and safe winter!

Here to find your Mobility, Comfort and Liberty!