Course Description:

Proper wheelchair seating and positioning plays a key role in a patient’s comfort, ability to independently mobilize themselves, and perform activities of daily living. Improper seating can lead to pain, skin breakdown, and unnecessary physical dependence. This course will discuss how to evaluate a patient’s basic seating needs and how to utilize commonly available wheelchairs and wheelchair parts to optimize sitting posture and function. Common seating pitfalls as well as how to quickly and inexpensively address these issues will be demonstrated. Finally, determining Medicare criteria for funding standard, lightweight, and bariatric wheelchairs and accessories will be reviewed. It is imperative that PT and OT professionals appreciate the benefits of normalizing posture to improve function, recognize poor positioning, and know how to correct improper alignment to maximize the functional potential of their patients.