When patients are in the hospital recovering from serious illnesses, being healthy enough to sit in a hospital chair or recliner; also called an aged care chair, is something to look forward to. Just the thought of being able to get out of bed and get a little change of scenery can cheer a patient up. However; if healthcare chairs are uncomfortable for the patients, after a period of time this can make the patients want to lie back down. This, in turn, can make patients feel as if they are not recovering as fast as they thought they were. So the question then is how to make the patient more comfortable involving healthcare seating since it aids in treatment?
Making the patients comfortable
One of the ways to make patients more comfortable while sitting in healthcare recliners or chair is to be sure the chair’s front seat edge doesn’t restrict the circulation of the patient. Because the chair needs to be comfortable enough for the patient to sit for periods of time without minding it. The person should be able to relax, feel good in the chair and take relief at being out of the bed.
However, this doesn’t mean the chair should be overstuffed and without support. Now the correct amount of support is to support not only for the back in the lumbar and sacral area, but also the ischial turberosities, which are the bones a person sits on. If a person isn’t comfortable, then fidgeting may start. The problem with fidgeting is that the person will start moving around and then may try to stand up. This could cause the person, who’s still unstable or in pain, to fall back and miss the chair and end up on the floor causing more trauma and injury. Or, if the person tries to steady himself, the chair may tip over. So, comfort is a big priority in aged care chairs.
Important features in healthcare chairs
Because inactivity can cause bruising and even bed sores, it’s important to have the person change positions and move while seated. Some important features in healthcare seating is for the person to be able to adjust tilting. So a crucial function of good healthcare chairs is the ability to allow postural variation with an easy adjustment control for reclining. This lets the person recline or tilt to the comfort level that’s best. Also, if a person has a large thoracic curve, which is caused by the rounding of shoulders as the person ages, chairs which offer the range of a full tilt allow for better respiratory access for caregivers.
In addition, when a person is comfortable the feeling of well being and relaxation can be enjoyed which improves recovery. This is true with both mental and physical recovery in a patient because sitting and being able to choose the position a person wants to sit in gives a feeling of independence. This feeling is opposed to the experience of feeling utterly helpless and depending on other people for the smallest things which leads to depression which can seriously hinder recovery. So just being able to sit in a healthcare recliner comfortably and somewhat independent can give a positive message to a recovering person.
Sitting in aged care chairs which are comfortable and relaxing can help patients’ attitudes which helps lead to fuller recoveries.
