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The very first chair that I got back in 1980 was an E
& J. (Everest and Jennings) with a low, slingback back on it that
came about to my shoulder blades.
In 1984 or 1985 I was looking into getting another
power chair. At that time I found and decided upon one called a
"Fortress Scientific" that was made in Canada. The chair I was
expecting had two options... the slingback design or the bucket seat
design. The latter looked much more comfortable and that is what I
wanted.
When it arrived it came with the slingback and was not
comfortable whatsoever. It was also a "high" slingback. In
any case, I wanted the bucket seat with the plush feeling it gave my
body on the back and on the cushion.
That chair had a recline feature and I used it
often. I had that share for 12 years.
In January of 1999 it was definitely time to look for
a new chair. I ended up choosing the Permobile chairman which also
had the bucket seat style. I knew that I did not want to go back
to the low, slingback style seating at that point.
The seat part of it also gave my legs a correct
sitting position. In all of the years in my Fortress Scientific...
my thighs were always on a downhill slope. It was difficult to
even use a lap tray, carry books or papers, etc. etc. etc.
Anyway, what I am saying is ... I
am interested in knowing is whether you guys are preferring chairs
with a high back (that is usually the bucket seat style) or the style
whereby the back of the chair is quite low and goes to the shoulder
blade area.
I do not remember NOT liking my Everest and Jennings
wheelchair in the 1980s but I remember that my posture was quite poor
because of the low backing.
That brings me to my further thoughts... especially
for women I have noticed that a lot of them who use or have the low back
wheelchairs are sometimes "humped over" a little bit but
noticeably so. This can not be good for the spine
long-term or in the long run.
Just last week when I was in Wal-Mart I saw a young
lady who looked to be in her 30s or early 40s and she had a low
back power wheelchair. She also had that humped-over
look.
Essentially, I have noticed that the higher back
chairs are much better for posture. I look at pictures of myself
from the front or from the side and it looks like I am sitting up nice
and straight. I remember this was quite difficult to
do using my old Everest and Jennings wheelchair. In
fact, I remember asking my grandmother or grandfather [whom I lived
with] to frequently stand behind me and pull my shoulders back because
it felt so good to sit up straight without killing myself to do it using
my neck muscles.
Women are more prone to osteoporosis and I would hate
to see it worsened by long-term use of low back chairs just because they
have not had the opportunity to try out the other chairs that offer much
better posture.
Sometimes people do not even realize it if
they have a low back share that gives them poor posture. A common
sign that it is uncomfortable is to lean forward every once in awhile to
offset an uncomfortableness that they can't quite pinpoint.
Any thoughts?
Lori
C4/5 complete quad, almost 27 years
post
Tucson, Arizona | 
