Arthritic Hands and Hand Control for Lift Chair
Arthritic Hands and Hand Control for Lift Chair Arthritic can be hard to find. However, Ambassador Lift Chairs can be custom modified to assist clients with arthritis.
What is arthritis?
In simple terms, “arthritis” refers to inflammation of the joints. Arthritis can affect just about any joint in the body, but commonly it can be found in the hands, shoulder, hips, knees, and spine. In reality, there are over 100 types of arthritis that affect multiple joints of the body (Arthritis Foundation, 2021). The most common types include rheumatoid arthritis (autoimmune) and osteoarthritis (cartilage deterioration). Left untreated, and some forms of arthritis can cause permanent joint deformities, stiffness, and chronic pain.
How does it wreak havoc on the hands?
Chronic arthritis can create knobby formations called bone spurs and additional swelling that further reduces range-of-motion in the fingers, thumbs, and wrists. Severe forms of rheumatoid arthritis can create additional deformations of the hands that require orthotic and pharmacological interventions. Arthritic conditions of the hands can make simple grips and grasps extremely difficult as well as painful. Individuals with chronic arthritis may find themselves giving up certain hobbies/activities that require detailed use of their hands due to loss of joint range, sensation, strength, and/or dexterity.
What other conditions can affect hand grip?
Decreased hand grip can occur for several medical reasons: inflammation, swelling, nerve degeneration, muscle weakness, visual impairments, and injury. Some disorders that impact hand function include multiple sclerosis, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), spinal cord injury, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, carpel tunnel syndrome, repetitive use injury, hand fractures/lesions, etc.
Arthritic Hands and Hand Control for Lift Chair.
Ambassador has produced an innovative hand control that meets the needs of individuals with arthritic hands as well as other disorders that reduce hand function. The hand control is attached to the side of the chair just under the armrest. All the users would have to do is push down on the control features using an open palm. Features of the control include backrest raise, backrest recline, lower/hold footrest. Additionally, Ambassador is one of the few manufacturers who can fit custom hand controls to their chairs.
How does the control make using the Ambassador chair easier arthritic hands?
Utilising the hand control with an open palm eliminates the need for a standard grip. In other words, users do not have to flex their fingers and can maintain a neutral wrist position. This reduced irritation and inflammation of the joints while utilising a chair that is essential to their living routines. Furthermore, since the control doesn’t operate using a dial or button system, users with limited dexterity and fine motor coordination can also effectively operate the chair.
Could the hand control be beneficial for users who are visually impaired?
Yes. Fine motor coordination and grasping objects in the environment requires frequent hand-eye coordination. Individuals who have reduced vision due to cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, as well as a wide-array of other visual conditions can benefit from using this control since it eliminates the need for fine-motor precision. Plus, there is no need for the user to read any buttons on the hand control; rather, the user can depend on muscle memory to gauge where each feature on the control is located.
What should I still be doing to maintain range and strength in my hands?
Arthritic Hands and Hand Control for Lift Chair, the custom Ambassador arthritic hand control is a method of compensation. Its ergonomic design takes away the user’s need to mobilise their hand joints for typical grip and button use. This does not mean that the control should be used as a substitute or intervention for hand mobility. The hand control only makes one aspect of the user’s life a little easier and less painful. Individuals with arthritis should still be participating in hand exercises, therapeutic activities, and pain-reducing interventions set forth by their doctors and their physical therapists in order to keep up their strength for other hand-involved activities in their lives.
The custom Ambassador arthritic hand control is a revolutionary, ergonomically-friendly device that can make using a recliner chair a more positive experience. Users and caregivers can take comfort in the fact that reclining needs can be met despite joint deterioration caused by something as common as arthritis, and that users can still assert command over their specific positional needs.
References
What is Arthritis? (2021). What is arthritis? https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/about-arthritis/understanding-arthritis/what-is-arthritis. Viewed on March 4, 2021.
