Submitted by Jason Fox

Safety first! We have all seen or used many different assistive devices, such as standard walkers, front wheeled walker, canes, motorized scooters, and of course the four-wheeled walkers. These walkers are often referred to as “The Cadillac of Walkers.” These walkers provide little resistance and easy maneuverability as we go throughout our day. They have many benefits, from providing brakes to help control your velocity as you ascend or descend slopes, bigger wheels to allow greater ease when ambulating over uneven surfaces or over thresholds, basket to carry your belongings from place to place, and of course a seat to provide a convenient rest break whenever needed. 

The seat on these walkers however, is often one of the biggest dangers and largest contributors to falls. Time and time again I have witnessed or heard of residents falling when trying to propel themselves while sitting on the walker. This is never recommended and most of these types of walkers have a safety sticker on them prohibiting propelling yourself while sitting on the walker. There are many reasons why this act should not be performed by the user or by others assisting by pushing the user on their walker.

1. The walker does not have a big enough base to support a resident sitting and propelling the walker.

2. In order to propel the wheelchair in sitting you must do so going BACKWARDS. This causes many different concerns in itself.

• Cannot see where you are going safely
• Cannot see other pedestrians or obstacles that may be in your way
• Increased risk for tipping backwards, due to wheelbase perpendicular to seat
• If you tip over backwards while sitting on the walker, you have a 95% chance of striking your head against the ground. Resulting in the potential for severe, even life threatening injuries

Another big concern with these walkers is having someone push you while seated on the walker. This technique should never be utilized no matter who is pushing you, whether it’s your spouse, best friend, family member, or even a staff member, as it will be next to impossible to stop the walker from tipping over if it strikes a threshold, hits an object, or tips backwards during pushing. This can result in not only serious injury to yourself, but to the person pushing you and possibly other pedestrians in the area.

Here at Meadowlark Hills your safety is our number one concern. We want everyone to remain mobile and continue to enjoy the elegancies of Meadowlark Hills and all the flint hills has to offer, but most of all, we want you all to be safe while doing so.  Please help us by utilizing any assistive device as intended and if you see someone demonstrating unsafe techniques, be a friend or contact Jason Fox and stop them from potentially injuring themselves or you.