5 Reasons Wheelchair Footrests are Critical in Your Daily Life

Two nursing homes, Heritage Health, were fined after patients suffered a broken leg while being pushed on a wheelchair with legs not on footrests. This illustrates how the footrest of a wheelchair can impact your daily life. 

Maintaining the body in the right posture, preventing a wheelchair user from slouching, and preventing swelling in the feet due to slow blood flow are among the benefits of a wheelchair footrest. Leg injuries, hip bone pain due to excessive pressure, and leg discomfort are common experiences among persons who use wheelchairs with no footrests or footrests that are too high or too low.

While footrests of a wheelchair have direct positive and negative impacts on the user, they also cause hidden health complications that slowly worsen due to prolonged sitting in a wheelchair. 

Wheelchair Footrests Types and How They Impact Your Daily Life

Wheelchair footrests are available in different styles, designs, mechanisms, and materials. The right leg rests for a wheelchair should be able to support the legs properly to prevent immediate and long-term health and physical complications. Here are the different types of footrests you can install on your wheelchair.

a) Swing Away Footrest

Just as the name says, “ Swing-away”, these are footrests for a wheelchair designed to swing away to one side. The swing-away mechanism clears the front space, thus preventing the user from tripping when standing up. This is the primary cause of accidental wheelchair injuries. 

Footrests on a wheelchair are an obstacle to the user and the helper during transfers. Having wheelchair swing-away footrests eliminates this obstacle, hence allowing for safe transfers to the sofa, bed, or another wheelchair. 

b) Fixed Footrest for wheelchair

Wheelchair users who require a static seating position benefit more when they use a wheelchair with fixed footrests. Users with involuntary leg movements require a footrest that can be fixed in one position. Again, the feet should be strapped to the footplate with a heel loop to prevent the feet from sliding towards the drive wheels during bumps to avert serious injury.

Although fixed or static wheelchair footrests have their benefits, they also pose risks. Fixed footrests that maintain the leg in one position for long durations cause knee stiffness and pain due to extra pressure on the cartilage.

c) Elevating Footrest for wheelchair

This type of footrest can be mounted on most standard wheelchairs and is normally attached to the frame at an angle between 70 and 90 degrees. Elevated footrests for a wheelchair promise comfort, flexible leg positioning to prevent fluid accumulation in the lower limb, and improved blood circulation. 

Since wheelchair users spend long hours seated, an elevated wheelchair footrest is essential as it allows frequent changes in user seating position. Changes in seating position cause changes in pelvic position and alter the pressure points, which prevent ligament strains and damage to the spine. 

d) Dynamic Footrest

This type of footrest is designed to absorb and diffuse force from downward movement, sideways footplate rotation, knee extension, and downward ankle movement (plantar flexion). A dynamic footrest offers many benefits, including preventing injurious forces acting on the foot, pelvic bones, and spinal discs. 

As this footrest absorbs and diffuses forces, it increases the wheelchair user's seating tolerance, increases alertness, and improves posture.

What to Look for When Purchasing Footrests for Wheelchairs

Leg rests and footrests are everyday critical wheelchair parts whose impact on the user is determined by their specific features. Most wheelchairs are compatible with many different replacement footrests for wheelchairs. To get a footrest or leg rest that meets your needs, consider the following factors.

a) Adjustability of the footrest 

Wheelchair footrest adjustability enables the user to set the footrest adjustable in a way that the user fulfills a desired need. For you to rest your feet comfortably on footrests, you need to adjust the footrest to match leg length. 

Adjust the footrest's height to give a reasonable ground clearance. Ensure footrests are at least 2 inches off the ground to avoid catching on bumps.

b) Footplate size

People’s foot sizes are different. Equally, footplates are manufactured in different sizes. When choosing a footrest for your wheelchair, ensure that the footplate size can accommodate your foot fully.

c) Attachment mechanism

Wheelchair footrest attachment mechanisms are varied. Common footrest attachment mechanisms include Pin-and-Hinge, sliding tube-in-tube, bracket, clamping, and latching. Consider selecting a footrest whose attachment mechanism is compatible with your wheelchair frame.

Removals footrest are easily fixed or removed just like the attachment. Removing footrests before loading a wheelchair into a car—it saves weight and protects the vehicle's interior.

d) Non-slip footrest surface

Wheelchairs like the XSTO M4 electric wheelchair have non-slip footrests to give the feet the friction they need to prevent sliding. The feet need to have a grip on the footrests to enable the legs to support the body when aligning the body in the correct sitting posture.

Besides the electric wheelchairs, you'll find a collection of many related products like armrest sidebag, phone holders, and wheelchair replacement batteries.

How to Properly Use a Footrest

Proper use of wheelchair footrests does make the user feel more comfortable and reduces the risk of injuries. Using a footrest correctly will show up in the way your feet are balanced on it, the simplicity in weight shifting, and how low or high the footrests are.

To experience the full impact of your wheelchair footrests, this is how you should use the footrests.

i) Ensure the feet and legs are well supported for you to feel stable and reduce the risk of injury.

ii) Adjust the wheelchair height and seat depth to give the feet a flat contact with the footplate, and the knees are not overhanging.

iii) Set the footrests in alignment with the body to enable the feet and legs to be aligned with the rest of the body parts. When setting a wheelchair footrest, observe the 90-90-90 rule.

The first 90-degree angle represents the feet to the footrest. The second 90-degree angle represents the knee angle, and the third 90-degree angle is between the torso and thighs. 

Conclusion

The footrests of a wheelchair impact a wheelchair user’s daily life in many ways. Footrests provide a comfortable place to rest the legs, an anchoring point to correct body posture, and a cushion for absorbing unwanted pressure acting on the feet.