Wheeled Mobility Aids

Mobility aids with wheels are key for all sorts of tasks around the home. If someone struggles to walk unaided, they are perfect for a number of situations. Injuries or conditions which affect the ability to walk impact millions of people in the UK, leading many to seek equipment which might help.

While sticks and canes offer useful support for walking, sometimes they are not enough. Stability can be an issue and if the person’s balance is also impaired, standard sticks can be dangerous to use. This is especially true if the individual concerned lives alone.

Suffering a fall can result in serious injuries, particularly to elderly people. Fractures occasionally lead to infection and other secondary medical conditions. Those living alone are vulnerable to falling and possibly having no way of raising the alarm.

Tripods, Tetropods and Walking Frames

Tripod or tetrapod walking sticks provide options if a standard walking stick is not stable enough to be safe. These have three or four legs and offer greater stability than traditional sticks. Even when made of lightweight aluminium, the drawback with these walking aids is that they are comparatively heavy to use.

For the elderly, this can be a problem, so they instead look to more substantial aids.

Walking frames are a great way of getting around the home. These are available with wheels and are usually made of lightweight materials, so are easy to control after some practice. Some come equipped with on-board storage, so you can easily carry objects from room to room. These storage devices are sometimes called walking frame caddies.

If you have narrow corridors, consider the width of frame you require before making a choice. Some extra-narrow frames are available, which might be a good option in limited space.

For the kitchen or dining room, trolleys are a great way of offering support. At the same time they help transporting food and drink from the work surfaces to the table. Often they have shelves for this purpose.

These wheeled kitchen trolley typically have casters on each leg so are easy to manoeuvre. Equipped with four wheels, they are both stable and practical.

When outside the home, the most common form of wheeled walking aids are rollators. These have either four or three wheels and are great for trips to the shops. Four-wheeled models usually feature a basket and a seat.

The seat provides a convenient resting point if you need a break from walking. Usually a brake system will be in place which prevents the rollator from rolling while the seat is in use.

Some modern models look radically different to a typical rollator. They have sleek geometry and attractive colour schemes. Some have bicycle-staying lever brakes.

An Over Bed Table?

In the bedroom and over bed table with wheels can be a useful aid. These have legs which are nearly flat to the ground. Their small wheels are able to roll underneath the bed itself, positioning the table-top over the legs of the person in bed.

The same principal applies to an over chair table. Again the legs slide under the chair, allowing the table top to be accessible to the person sitting down.

Using an over bed table is convenient to allow eating and drinking, providing access to reading material, an Ipad or laptop. For those spending extended periods bedbound, they are a useful living aid.

It is important to check if the over chair table you are considering will fit the armchair or sofa you have in mind. Similar to divan beds, a small clearance gap under the furniture may cause problems. Make sure that you know the clearance the table requires in order for its legs to fit under the furniture concerned.

Sometimes models with wheels need more space in this respect than those without. Some designs don’t have wheels at all and the legs simply slide on the carpet beneath the chair. These models tend to require less clearance space.

Derry has been working in the mobility aids industry since 2003, acquiring a wealth of knowledge along the way. Before Essential Aids, Derry's background was in engineering. In his spare time he is a devotee of yoga and rare reggae vinyl.