Why Use Pressure Lifts?
Why do therapists and doctors strongly recommend regular pressure lifts?
The reason for this is to take the pressure off your buttocks boney areas in order to avoid the number one cause of pressure ulcers, constant unrelieved pressure.
Sci-health.org suggest the following methods of pressure relief in a manual wheelchair.
- Wheelchair push up- You should make sure you completely lift your buttocks off the cushion and hold for 15 seconds every 15 minutes or 30 seconds every 30 minutes.
- Lean from side to side
- Lean forward
The APK2 cannot replicate the leaning motion mentioned above and we would not want the cushion to cause you to lean, but it does provide pressure relief to the tissue of the posterior by alternately inflating and deflating two sets of air bladders. The dynamic result is similar to that achieved with an alternating mattress. This is something a static not powered cushion cannot do which is why it is up to the individual using a static cushion to be responsible for their own pressure relief.
Automatic pressure relief is the primary benefit of the APK2 cushion in the prevention of pressure ulcers.