Pressure care is extremely important. Many people buy a wheelchair then look into cushions and almost fall off their chair: yes, they can be VERY expensive. However, there are certain people that require these types of cushions lest they become dangerously sick from pressure sores. Equally there are people that wouldn't benefit as much with a dearer cushion and something basic is good enough. We hope the following information can assist you in your search for the appropriate levels of comfort. There are no 'industrial standards' to group cushions. However, many people do separate them into three logical fields- Comfort or Low care, Medium care and High care.

Low Pressure Back Care

Low pressure care is generally used by most people that just want to improve comfort whilst using their chair. If the occupant has feeling in their lower body, and are only in the chair for approximately 2 hours maximum without a break, then they can consider using nothing more than a low-care cushion. These are generally made from standard foam, often called "convoluted foam" or eggshell, or memory foam. Memory foam is becoming more and more used for pressure alleviation. Many people are now even sleeping on memory foam pillows and mattresses as it is proving to be a relatively inexpensive method of achieving comfort and basic pressure care.

Medium Pressure Back Care

Some occasions call for greater levels of care than low-pressure cushions. For example, there may be someone whose body would generally not be susceptible to sores but will be spending extensive time frames in a wheelchair (possibly due to an injury) in the realms of 4 hours or more without a break. A medium-relief cushion would be preferred here, and would usually contain some sort of advanced material such as a polymer gel. Gel cushions are a great way of relieving pressure, more so polymer gel's as the do not 'bottom out' to create flat spots, at a relatively inexpensive cost. Medium pressure care cushions are very popular as they offer a better resistance to pressure sores than basic cushions, but don't cost as much as the high-care type.

High Pressure Back Care

High pressure relief cushions can cost quite a bit more that the previous two categories. The common reaction is "wow, this cushion cost the same amount \ more than the wheelchair". High pressure cushions are generally used by people who are in the chair all day and\or cannot feel the lower parts of their body. They are generally made with air cells that can be inflated or deflated to perfectly suit the individual user requirements and sometimes contain gel and foam to offer lower levels of care to different parts of the body (this also helps to reduce cost). The most popular example of this type on the market today is the ROHO cushion.

Pressure sores are not to be taken lightly. There have been cases of healthy people, neither old nor sick, that have deteriorated and died in a matter of months due to a septic pressure sore. As the name implies, and area of the body becomes under intense pressure long enough for the body to sustain damage. Usually your brain will tell you to adjust your position however sometimes, if you are in pain due to an illness or do not have feeling in that area, these messages can be lost. Once the sore manifests it is not simply a matter of putting a bandaid on it; the person generally needs to be hospitalized and it can cost anywhere in the vicinity of thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to recover... if at all.

If you believe you have any level of pressure care cushion greater than Comfort \ Low then you should consider discussing your options with an independent Occupational Therapist \ Physiotherapist before choosing a cushion.

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