Author: numotion

  • NuDigest: Tips for Flying with a Wheelchair

    View from an airplane window showing the plane’s wing above a layer of fluffy white clouds and a deep blue sky, capturing the joy of accessible travel.

    Air travel can be challenging, but with these tips from wheelchair user Justin Richardson, you can avoid the most common frustrations.

  • NuDigest: The Roles and Partnership of Clinicians and the ATP/ Supplier in the Provision of CRT

    A man sits on a stool indoors, focused on service and repair of a wheelchair with tools. Several other wheelchairs and mobility devices surround him, with a wall listing names visible in the background.

    The provision of Complex Rehabilitation equipment is often considered an art and a science that is best provided through the partnership, or team, of licensed medical professionals and Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) suppliers. A united and knowledgeable team, composed of a therapist and ATP Supplier, works best for the client as each has their own roles and responsibilities. Working together, the…

  • NuDigest: The Keys to Successful Custom Contoured Seating Interventions: An Overview

    A young man in a motorized wheelchair, wearing a green and white varsity jacket, smiles while holding a game controller. He benefits from custom contoured seating, and is seated outside near sliding glass doors with a tray attached to his chair.

    Providing seating interventions for individuals with very complex impairments can be quite challenging. One of the tools available to address complex needs is custom contoured seating. Many years ago, this approach was born of orthotic approaches that emphasized “total contact” to provide both postural control and pressure distribution. As with any other seating intervention, the…

  • NuDigest: LMN – You Can Do It!

    A laptop displays the LMN Navigator interface with a medical diagram of three human spines: neutral, increased thoracic kyphosis with decreased lumbar lordosis, and decreased thoracic kyphosis with increased lumbar lordosis.

    “Letter of medical necessity” – are words that can initiate fear and confusion in many a therapist. But do they need to? When I was in third grade, our teacher required us to write down detailed steps of how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I wrote, “put the peanut butter on one…

  • NuDigest: Custom Molded Seating: Getting it Right for Your Client

    A blue and black wheelchair with Custom Molded Seating is displayed in multiple reclined positions, illustrating its adjustable tilting function against a white background.

    Custom-molded seating in different iterations has been around since the mid to late 1970’s when several therapists and technicians at developmental centers around the country began experimenting with weather balloons filled with small beads and glue to make shapes around very asymmetric patients who had no good way to get out of bed because they…

  • NuDigest: The Basics of Getting Your Client in Powered Mobility

    Three modern power recline wheelchairs are displayed side by side on a brightly lit steel bridge at night, with city lights visible in the background.

    Prescribing the right type of wheelchair can be challenging. Prescribing the optimal piece of equipment can improve the function and quality of life for an individual. The right mobility device facilitates psychosocial and physical well-being. Prescribing the incorrect equipment can lead to fatigue, pain, loss of independence, poor quality of life and equipment abandonment. Clinicians…

  • NuDigest: Selecting the Right Wheel Configuration for a Powered Wheelchair

    A man kneels on the floor, inspecting the wheel configuration of a yellow and black powered wheelchair in a workshop. Tools and parts are visible nearby.

    During an evaluation for a power wheelchair, the wheelchair prescription team of the doctor, the therapist and the assistive technology professional must fully evaluate a client’s needs. Thorough review of environment, circumstances, and activities of daily living must take place to facilitate providing an optimal mobility device. Seating and positioning components recommendations are generally guided…

  • NuDigest: The Importance of Properly Programming Powered Wheelchairs

    A close-up of a red and black powered wheelchair on a sunny outdoor surface, highlighting large wheels, footrests, and part of the seat, with emphasis on wheelchair safety features.

    It is not unusual to see clients, both adults and children, that when a powered wheelchair is suggested, immediately decline because they previously had a “scary” experience. Upon further questioning, it becomes apparent that when a powered chair was tried, the client got in and drove without programming adjustments being made. This situation can be…

  • NuDigest: The Hands-On Mat Evaluation for the Complex Rehab Client

    A man pushes a motorized wheelchair up a ramp into a white service van labeled “nMotion,” featuring graphics and text for complex rehab, wheelchair service, and repair. Equipment is visible outside the van.

    Imagine that you’ve gone to visit your physician. She enters the exam room, stands at the door and says, “Looks like those glands are swollen. You must have an infection, here’s a prescription for antibiotics. Let me know if you have any more problems.” She never physically examined you … how does she know what’s…

  • NuDigest: The Complete Face to Face for Medicare Power Mobility: Required Documentation for Medicare Funding and the Denial Risk of Duplicating Effort

    A document titled Summary of Your Medicare Payments lies on a desk with a pen, eyeglasses, a calculator, and charts, suggesting a financial review related to Medicare Power Mobility and required documentation for healthcare expenses.

    To qualify for a power mobility device with Medicare funding, physicians, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants or clinical nurse specialists that are treating a patient for their mobility needs, must evaluate a patient for their power mobility needs and document the exam in their normal record-keeping format to meet Medicare’s guidelines for power mobility. These guidelines…