Technology is now evolving at such a rapid rate that new solutions that can support your health, fitness and lifestyle are being announced regularly. This can only be good news as their impact allows for you to be healthier, fitter and more independent – and will ultimately enhance your quality of life.
Serious injuries, such as a spinal cord injury, can be traumatic. Coming to terms and adjusting to the many everyday challenges of living with an injury can be especially difficult.
After dealing with the immediate implications of your injury, it is essential to consider your wider health and fitness needs. As difficult as it is, neglecting to do this can have a negative impact on recovery and potentially lead to setbacks.
Wellbeing
The need to regain independence in your life is vital. Even simple tasks like visiting the shops or taking the dog for a walk can appear insurmountable obstacles post-accident. New challenges such as fatigue and repetitive strain injury (RSI) can be challenging.
Fortunately, the difficulties faced by manual wheelchair users can be mitigated by using new mobility products to regain their independence and improve their wellbeing by doing so.
Pete Lau injured his spinal cord in 2014 and explained how he “longed to get out with Deb and the boys and shred the countryside”. Peter told us that he’d tried all kinds of equipment before finding the Quadrix Watts which “hits the sweet spot” mentioning too, that he’d recently clocked up “22 miles of testing Lakes countryside and today one of our favourite local rides of 16 miles with an epic downhill”, describing it as: “Simply amazing!”
Freedom
Freedom and independence, of course, aren’t merely achieved by finding blue sky and fresh air. TV personality, Sophie Morgan, has a busy, city lifestyle and uses a Batec electric handbike, a product she describes as “Possibly the most life-transforming piece of equipment that I have come across as a user”, to get around, adding: “I live and work in London. I clip the Batec on to my chair and zip off to catch the tube, the bus or simply cruise along in the bike lanes all around town.”
Disability can make simple things complicated. The good news is that technology can make them simple again, enabling disabled people to get back to living, instead of constantly monitoring their energy levels and being anxious about their mobility needs.
“When I get where I’m going, be it work, shopping, the gym, a park, a restaurant, a bar or club – I simply detach it and carry on as normal. Even users with very severe disabilities can connect and disconnect the Batec autonomously” says Sophie.
With adjustments and technology disabled people are rediscovering the independence and wellbeing they thought was gone for good.
