3 Best Electric wheelchairs for Parkinson’s

One main challenge that people with Parkinson’s disease face is trouble with their mobility. Oftentimes, they will be battling with gait freezing and legs stiffness that makes ambulation slow. In advanced cases of the disease, one finds that they are falling many times which could be dangerous as they could get seriously injured.

Our physiotherapist Kelvin James will do everything he can to massage the patient limbs, encourage them but as the disease progresses, it just gets hard to help the patient. They must lay on the bed all day and depend on a caregiver to help them out or even to take them to the washroom.

To manage this, one could either use a laser cane walker that helps you with rhythmic pacing or a wheeled walker with a beeper that helps you with the rhythmic walking despite the debilitating gait freezing. Studies have shown that using a walker does not in any way stop gait freezing. However, it does help in offering the patient support while walking and could provide some very much needed visual and auditory cues.

The cane is the least appropriate measure that you could use to help with your gait freezing. But when you have laser light attachment and audio cues to it, you could have an upper hand conditioning your mind to take that next step even when your body freezes.

The standard walker is also good though not as great as the four-wheeled walker with a padded seat. In another article, we have said that the u-step walker is the best walker you could get for your Parkinson’s patient because it has a stable base, innovative reverse braking system, laser attachment and can get you past narrow passages in your home.

When bad gets to worse, one could get their patient some electric wheelchair that will ease movement. The good thing with an electric walker is that the patient can still go out without having to always ask for supervision or caregiver help. It also helps beat the problem of gait freezing since with an electric power wheelchair, the patient can go anywhere no matter the change in floor patterns. The controls are easy to work with.

I like calling these wheelchairs power chairs because they give the patient power and freedom to move around even without being supervised by a caregiver.

Guide to choosing the best electric wheelchair for Parkinson’s patients

When choosing the best electric wheelchair for Parkinson’s, you want to go for one that is:

• Light to carry—You want a wheelchair that is easily collapsible and not to heavy as to cause problems when you want to fold it up and carry in your car trunk.
• Has a comfortable recliner seat—You want a wheelchair with soft, well padded memory foam seat and backrest so that you can recline on it and rest while still travelling.
• Covered by your insurance company: It is good to note that not all electric power wheelchairs are covered by insurance. So, you will have to check with your insurance company whether the wheelchair that you wish to buy is covered.

Before buying, you will also need to schedule an appointment with your physiotherapist or doctor so that they can go through the wheelchair, see its features, and determine whether it will do you any good.

Now, lets look at the best electric wheelchairs for Parkinson’s patients:

#1. Majestic Buvan Electric Power Wheelchair

Powered by a remote control, sleek and with a comfortable memory foam padded seat, the Majestic Buvan is worth the buy. It is easily foldable and weighs just 55lbs even with a li ion battery on. It can cruise at a maximum speed of 4 mph on any terrain whether bumpy, ramp or grassy while your patient is safely buckled under the strong safety belt.

Great for Parkinson’s disease patients, this electric power wheelchair will help you with your mobility despite gait freezing or stiffness of your legs.

What we loved about the Majestic Buvan Electric Wheelchair

• The padded seat and head backrest were a welcome to our patients with ambulatory issues. They can now travel safely and in comfort
• It has a 500W engine that can cruise on almost any terrain
• It is lightweight
• It has a nice footrest where the patient can place their feet while in transit
• Easily collapsible and once unfolded does not need any screwing or fastening of bolts.

#2. Silla de Ruedas Electric Wheelchair

The Silla de Ruedas is another great wheelchair for Parkinson’s patients. Lightweight and stylish, it is airline approved and will fold in less than a minute so that you can hand it in to the airline personnel. It features a well padded seat and backrest, is lightweight at only 67 lbs even when it has the battery on.

It comes with a 360 degree rottaing joystick for immediate braking, horn and a maximum speed of 5 mph. The front wheel have a shock absorber and so you can cruise on just any terrain that you prefer whether it is bumpy, grassy, wet, smooth or on a ramp.

What we loved about the Silla de Ruedas Wheelchair

• Comfy seat and backrest
• Shock absorbers for the feet so that you can go to any terrain
• Gives the patient freedom to move about without caregiver supervision
• Joystick is great for immediate braking

#3. Pride Go Chair Travel Power Scooter

With the design of a power scooter, the pride go chair is another travel companion for Parkinson’s patients with great agility, comfort and can accommodate a person as heavy as 300lbs. The only issue we had with the pride go chair was the difficulty in assembling it after shipping. It was not that easy to put up all the parts together as compared to assembling the electric wheelchairs.