Scooters = Immobility

As we travel the country talking about our rehabilitation solutions, we notice a disturbing trend.  More and more people living in nursing homes use mobility scooters.  There are many reasons for this.  And on the surface, it seems like a good idea.  They’re pretty affordable, they make it easy to get around and they’re portable.  But there are huge problems associated with mobility scooters that nobody talks about. New research published in the American Journal of Cardiology shows that relying on mobility scooters dramatically increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease.  This research makes sense.  People who use mobility scooters are far less physically mobile.  Instead of walking, they’re sitting.  So there are fewer opportunities to get any kind of exercise.  In fact, many people stop exercising at all once they begin using a mobility scooter.  This is dangerous because becoming inactive causes the body to atrophy and ultimately shortens a persons life span.

With Solo Step, nursing homes can avoid these problems.  We install a track that can go pretty much anywhere in the building.  This allows people to walk, not sit and ride, to the places they need to get to, and do it without the fear of falling.  Because of this, people get their exercise, have better quality of life and live longer.  We’ve also noticed that people are happier when given a chance to walk compared to when using a scooter.