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Post by Pony on Sept 4, 2007 17:13:20 GMT -5
Push
By
Anthony Rain Starez
Pushing this chair is far from similar to the act of walking, even though they both are used as mobility. Walking is a smooth natural act that is accomplished with little planning or thought, while lending itself to style, giving a person a unique distinction. A person’s walk can sometimes display attitude, even moods. The energy walk is fast, confident and bold. Some people lope along with a casual shrug. Then there’s an aggressive walk that, at times, intimidates. Other times that incredibly complicated physical task can be employed to lure the opposite sex. Uh, maybe the same sex!
Yes, walking can be the sexiest utility around when performed by the right person!!
I assure you pushing a wheelchair, as a c5-c6 Spinal Cord injury, is altogether different. In my case, there is little style, only survival. My ability to push is amazing enough since I’m missing 80% function of most of my muscles, including many arm muscles. Encountering small ramps, or hills, requires a whole different approach than pushing flat hard surface, like a grocery store. In a store, I look almost normal pushing with plenty of speed and agility. In contrast, pushing any kind of hill forces me to use the inside of my wrist against the push-knobs on the handrims, pulling with my biceps, then releasing only to reach back and push another knob before the chair rolls backwards. This can be very tricky, and it definitely takes focusing, therefore I don’t talk much during this. Pushing carpet, even thin carpet with low padding can give me hell. For one, it takes much more technique to shove harder on the knobs without hands slipping, which can cause loss of balance, which can cause you to fall. See, things can snowball fast. Thankfully over the years I’ve mostly perfected the push, and adjusted the chair, to compensate for the inevitable times when my hand misses, or slips, off the push knob.
Obviously, I’m lower to the ground than people standing, so it’s no surprise that it’s harder to have great face-to-face conversations with people, especially if I’m with a group of people, and/or it’s loud. Being a quad means less speaking power, in most cases, since all the breathing muscles that surround your ribcage and chest don’t work anymore. Only the Diaphragm that expands as you inhale works good, but it’s not as good at exhaling. With time, I’ve gotten very good in the strength of my voice. However, if you give me a night of trying to have conversations with a group of friends talking while music plays loudly in background, and I get worn out quickly.
This attempt to describe complications from pushing only scratches the surface, but my goal was to articulate the details of being a c5-c6 SCI that’s pushes a chair for mobility.
It sure ain’t walking!!
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Post by dolly on Sept 5, 2007 9:59:09 GMT -5
[Walking is a smooth natural act that is accomplished with little planning or thought, while lending itself to style, giving a person a unique distinction. A person’s walk can sometimes display attitude, even moods.
It sure ain’t walking!! great read, tony!  i just wanted to add that i do think wheelers have there own "style" which gives them a unique distinction. it may be more subtle, but even the folks i've known who use power chairs still have a way of moving that is unique to them. and that "style" can be sexy as hell too. ;D |
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Post by benquad on Sept 6, 2007 10:07:52 GMT -5
[i just wanted to add that i do think wheelers have there own "style" which gives them a unique distinction. it may be more subtle, but even the folks i've known who use power chairs still have a way of moving that is unique to them. and that "style" can be sexy as hell too. ;D I use a powerchair i must admit that i do have a "style" of movement, im constantly moving or figeting So if your around watch ur toes The manual chair is a whole other story |
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Post by Pony on Sept 6, 2007 16:03:44 GMT -5
Well, I misspoke a little when I said pushing has little style!! Somebody told me they love the style of pushing, and there are differences. For one, I grab the corner of a wall when I turn...the harder I grab that wall and push on the other wheel propels me faster. It's kind of a cool feeling...not sure how stylish!! To me, pushing is kind of a sport. It has the same physical adversity, and it uses my coordination and strength, even creativity, all day.
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Post by charlene on Sept 12, 2007 15:02:05 GMT -5
For one, I grab the corner of a wall when I turn...the harder I grab that wall and push on the other wheel propels me faster. It's kind of a cool feeling...not sure how stylish!! A lot of quads seem to do that. That's cool as long as they wash their hands before touching me  |
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Post by Pony on Sept 12, 2007 20:11:12 GMT -5
Oh God, you take all the PASSION out of touching...I'll sterilize my hands in alcohol soaks if you want!!! hehe
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Post by Ouch on Sept 13, 2007 17:04:42 GMT -5
Man, women don't get the hots for wall grime and dirt...?! That explains a lot of my problems! |
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Post by charlene on Sept 14, 2007 4:18:03 GMT -5
It would if you get a bad fungus down there cuz you're wheelerfriend touched every wall/car/etc before touching you down there... |
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Post by dolly on Sept 14, 2007 8:13:28 GMT -5
For one, I grab the corner of a wall when I turn...the harder I grab that wall and push on the other wheel propels me faster. It's kind of a cool feeling...not sure how stylish!! i'm actually a big fan of the "wall grab". |
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Post by Pony on Sept 18, 2007 16:38:33 GMT -5
I don't know about others, but I gargle with Clorox Bleach before going down on a girl. (((GERMS YUCK))))  Back to 'pushing', I'm curious about the advantages of using smaller lightweight front wheels and lighter forks. I've used the bigger wheels/heavy duty forks for years, and they easily roll over stuff, but the other day I hit something that stopped me dead in my tracks, almost threw me out of chair. I've looked at those Frog Legs...any drawbacks? Remember, I'm c5c6 quad. |
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Post by Valkyrja on Sept 24, 2007 21:51:12 GMT -5
Anthony... Hermoso como siempre!!...
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Post by kryptic on Sept 25, 2007 3:50:14 GMT -5
Frog Legs work extreemely well because they remove a huge percentage of road vibrations. Much like a cars shock absorbers, it makes for a much smoother ride. I used to have a pair on another chair I had before and I LOVED THEM!!! They even prevented me from potential front flips at times I traversed over gaps and cracks on the sidewalks.
I would imagine that they would work whether you're a para like myself, or a quad. They are expensive but I think they are a worthwhile investment.
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Post by kryptic on Sept 25, 2007 3:58:50 GMT -5
Shoot, I forgot to mention one more thing...
DONT get caster wheels smaller than 5.25" Diamater! While the smaller caster wheels such as roller blades or the billet soft rolls do make for a tighter and quicker turning radius, they can be dangerous if you hit a big gap or crack, especially if your pushing fast.
I totally ate the pavement face first a while back when I was "jogging" around a lake and was too busy watching a girl jog in from of me...as I ungracefully flipped forward cause my 3" roller blade casters got stuck in a small gap on the sidewalk.
Lesson learned for me: I must switch to larger wheels whenever I go girl watching (((cough cough))) I mean...Jogging! ;D
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Post by Pony on Sept 25, 2007 16:49:06 GMT -5
Dude, thanks for the valuable info...I was wondering if anybody would answer!!! That's exactly what I wanted to know because even with my 5.25" wheels I've come close to kissing sidewalk. So, I'll stay with a wheel this size and invest in the Frog Legs. I could use an easier ride, but definitely hate the taste of pavement, or embarrassing myself in front of hotties. lol
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Post by kryptic on Sept 27, 2007 2:35:16 GMT -5
Since we’re on the subject of wheelchair parts, I also want to mention that, for all the manual wheelchair users out there, for the rear wheels, Spinergy wheels are also a worth while investment. They are strong as fuck and extremely light! I also used to have a set on the same chair I had the Frog Legs. Again, these are also very expensive but definitely worth it’s weight in price…you do get what you pay for as the old saying goes!
If you can’t or don’t wanna shell out $600 + for Spinergy’s, I would recommend getting a set of Sun High Flange hubs w/ double wall aluminum rims & stainless steel spokes. You can get these for roughly around $300. They are light, strong, and have many rim mounting options. These are the set that I am currently using.
Tires: I no longer use air filled tires because the number of times I got flats was just ridiculous. And if you’ve ever been out and about far from home with a flat tire, it’s not like you can just wheel into a nearby gas station to get it fixed! LOL! Now, I only use something called solid rubber inserts. KiK makes excellent solid flat free inserts and they aren’t expensive at all. The cool part about these babies is that you can choose from many different colors. They can fit either the 24” (540’s) or the 25” (559’s). You will need a special tire mounting device that isn’t very expensive either. Another cool thing is that, the KiK’s resemble clinchers and the ride quality is surprisingly solid. The most important part is, they will NEVER go flat on you! You will never have to worry about such things as tire pressure. And they are only marginally heavier then traditional air filled tires.
I probably don’t need to mention this but I’ll say it anyways. It is also vital to periodically check all the nuts and bolts that hold you chair together. If you’re like me and ride your chair hard and fast, you should always do maintenance checks at least once every other week. I frequently hop off high curbs and ride up and down escalators so I always need to make sure my axle mounts and caster assemblies are nice and tight. Teflon based lubricants are also highly recommended. Try to avoid using old school stuff like WD40. They attract dust particles and don’t do nearly a good a job as Teflon lubes would. I use Tri-Flow lubricant. It is actually a lube made for cyclists and can be found at any local bike shop.
Center Of Gravity (COG) is also important. Unless you have anti-tip bars in the rear, adjust your COG accordingly. My chair is extremely tippy but I set it up this way on purpose because I have really good use of my trunk control. But for Quads like yourself Tony, depending on what your daily routines and terrains are, you may want to adjust your COG. On the flip side, you don’t want to set your COG too far back otherwise it will perform just as poorly as one of those clunky hospital style wheelchairs! LoL.
Again, most of you guys probably already know most of this stuff but I figured I’ll include it just in case.
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