Module 10 - Power Mobility

"For all seating there are the following goals: 

1. To protect skin integrity
2. To allow optimal mobility  
3. To create or to maintain normal anatomical alignment with particular attention to the spine."

A successful wheeled mobility prescription integrates the goals of optimal postural alignment and pressure management as established in Modules 7 and 8. Appropriate power mobility and seating options are selected to maximise the client's health status, functional independence and community participation.

As technological advancement in seating and wheeled mobility changes rapidly, the replacement power wheelchair is unlikely to be exactly the same as the previous one. Minor changes can impact on the client's posture, pressure management, functional abilities and access to the environment. A thorough clinical assessment and up-to-date technical support from the suppliers or specialists will be required.

For clients with SCI who experience chronic upper limb pain and injury, assessment for power mobility is recommended in 'Preservation of upper limb function following spinal cord injury: a clinical practice guideline for health-care professionals':

Recommendation 34

Encourage manual wheelchair users with chronic upper limb pain to seriously consider use of power wheelchair.

(Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine 2005, published by Paralyzed Veterans of America, accessed 2008)

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Recognise indications for power mobility assessment
• Recognise the different types of, and indications for, power mobility
• List the components of a power wheelchair
• List the common types of power seating functions and their applications
• Understand the key issues on prescribing or customising a power wheelchair for clients with SCI
• Recognise that the supplier is a resource for equipment assessment and trial processes
• Conduct a power wheelchair trial with set criteria to make informative choice
• Have access to downloads and links to useful resources