Sarah was periodically assessed over 2 months in her care home. She was a 62 year old resident with early Alzheimer’s and limited mobility. She sat in a standard wooden frame chair used in many nursing homes which was much too wide
for her size.
Caregivers noted that Sarah was unable to do simple tasks such as eating, drinking or using a tissue unaided. She tended to lean to the right hand side.
From a postural perspective, Sarah’s leaning to the right side was causing an imbalance in her weight distribution. Due to this imbalance, more weight was being channeled through the right side of her pelvis and subsequently increasing the risk of a pressure ulcer in that area.
As the chair was too wide for her, she leaned to the right side of the chair with her arms and legs crossed to maintain stability, thus limiting her ability to use her arms for small tasks.
After assessing Sarah’s needs, she began using a Seating Matters Monaco™chair with lateral supports, which was made to suit her required seat width. Immediately Sarah’s postural alignment improved.
Her head was brought to a midline position over her spine and there was a more even weight distribution through her pelvis. Within a period of hours, Sarah began to relax her arms and legs, and uncross them as she felt stable, secure and supported in the chair.
We then tested her activity related function by placing a glass of water on the side table and asking her to reach for it.
With the support from the chair giving her pelvic stability, she felt safe and confident to reach out and take the glass, and drink independently for the first time in months.
Correct Pelvic Positioning with the Monaco Chair. Click Here to Learn More
** This post was originally published on http://blog.seatingmatters.com/sarahs-story
