How to Operate a Wheelchair

You may be forced to use a wheelchair for the first time after experiencing an injury or being in an accident. Using a wheelchair may look easy but it can actually take you quite a bit of time to get used to getting around in the wheelchair. With a good amount of practice, though, using your wheelchair can become just another part of your daily life. Operating your wheelchair can also provide an excellent upper body and cardiovascular workout.

Instructions

• 1

  Make sure that the wheelchair is resting on a flat surface before you attempt to get in and out of the wheelchair.

• 2

  Set the hand brake before getting in and out of the wheelchair. The hand brake will be located on one of the sides of the wheelchair and just above the back wheel. To set the hand brake, either pull up or push down on the brake (depending on your wheelchair).

• 3

  Sit down correctly in the wheelchair before you attempt to operate the wheelchair. Sit straight up in the wheelchair and then place your feet down on the foot rests. Sitting up straight in the wheelchair will make operating the wheelchair easier.

• 4

  Remove the hand brake and grip the top of the back wheels (or the hand rims that go around the wheels). When gripping the wheels or rims, your thumbs should rest comfortably on the base of the wheels or the rims.

• 5

  Push the wheels forward with your arms to go forward in the wheelchair. When doing this, extend your arms down as far as they can go while holding onto the wheels or rims. Then, let go and grip the wheel again in the same way as you did in the previous step. Continue doing this to manually push the wheelchair forward.

• 6

  Pull the wheels back to go backwards in the wheelchair. When you grip the top of the back wheels, your arms will be bent. Keep your arms bent and pull backwards as if you were rowing. The only difference is that your thumbs will be pointing forward instead of to the sides. Pull back as far as you can. Then re-grip the wheel and repeat this motion to continue going backward.

• 7

  Hold the left wheel still by gripping it and spin the right wheel to make a left turn. Reverse this to turn to your right.