The right wheelchair is extremely important to the overall health of a wheelchair user, but often over looked. Information and measurements are essential to a proper fitting wheelchair.

Your first two questions should be: Does the individual use his/her arms to propel, foot propel or a combination? How do they transfer to and from the wheelchair? Both of these questions affect the floor to seat height that the chair would need to be set at. If a wheelchair seat is too high, the user will slide down in the seat in order to touch the floor creating poor posture. This can cause long term damage to the spine. A more immediate problem is shallow

breathing as a result of folding your diaphragm in half. If the seat to floor height is too low, it will make transfers difficult or unsafe. Individuals who foot propel will want a seat to floor height that keeps their knee and hip even and still allows the foot to strike the floor heel first.

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To measure your treadmill belt for replacement do the following:

If your treadmill is not a major brand and it needs a new belt you may have to special order a belt. Following are instruction for making sure you get a good measurement.

Next to the motor the treadmill belt is the most important part of the treadmill. If it becomes frayed or starts to turn up on the sides then it is time to replace the belt.

The treadmill belt will also split at the seam. You should check the belt on a regular basis to ensure it is safe. If the belt wears thin it can ruin the deck, then you have the double expense of

replacing the belt and deck.

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