For the home, a stair case can present a significant risk to seniors and others who have difficulty walking or moving.
Often, factors that affect mobility, such as senior arthritis, can have a major impact on the ability of the senior to stand on their own, while increasing the risk of a fall when moving up or down the staircase. While senior arthritis is one of the more common factors that can make moving along a stairway difficult, as joint pain and other arthritis symptoms can make bending joints difficult, other factors such as obesity, can also impact whether or not an individual can safely use their staircase.
There are a number of devices that can help improve the safety of a staircase and often this involves with improving the physical construction of the staircase itself. Factors that include things like lighting, banister placement, and staircase tread surface can all have a meaningful impact on the safety of a stairway. Often, improving these sorts of things should be the first step, as they will provide a means of increasing safety on the stairs and reducing the risk of a fall.
In many instances though, even with improvements to the accessibility of the stair case, it is still difficult to safely move along the staircase. This results in some seniors simply abandoning the use of the upstairs portion of their home, restricting their living area to the lower floors. Installing a stair lift can not only ensure they can access all areas of their home, but they provide a safe and easy way of doing it. As a result, the seniors physical and mental health can be insured, as they are able to independently move along the staircase.
Stair lifts provide a mechanism for carrying a senior up or down a staircase, usually through the use of a chair that is secured to a metal track on the stairway. The track extends from the top of the staircase to the bottom, allowing the chair to transport its occupant up or down the staircase.
Using an electric motor, the patient is carried along the stairway at a slow, yet steady pace. The home lifting aid is controlled by the user, usually through the use of a simple switch that either moves up or down. Most have safety features built in that can prevent the stair lift from running over objects left on the stairs, as well as ensuring that the electric components of the device are fully functioning.
In the past, there were often a number of difficulties with battery operated stair lifts, as they were often unreliable and charging was problematic. Today, these issues have largely been fixed and battery operated stair lifts often provide the most practical solution. This is because even if they power goes out, the stair lift can still be used, so in emergencies, such as storms or even fires, the stair lift can still safely be used to move the user out of the home.
Stair lifts provide one means of safely allowing a user to access all areas of their home, without risk of injury or compromising their living independence.
