Seating for Bariatric Clients
Case Study for Bariatric Seating – Donna’s Story
Donna is a 32-year-old female who has always been outgoing and confident. She is family-orientated and loves spending time making memories with her daughter. She has worked hard to develop her career in technology as a Web Designer. Consequently, this has meant many years of living a sedentary lifestyle with long hours spent sitting and limited opportunity to remain physically active.
Donna is now considered obese with a BMI over 30 and an increased waist circumference. Donna experiences musculoskeletal pain as a result of osteoarthritis from increased stress on her joints. She also feels low in mood at times as she is finding it extremely difficult to interact and have fun with her daughter.
“The correct chair would manage her postural challenges whilst allowing her to engage in much needed lifestyle changes.”
Donna is now more motivated than ever to take control of her health and wellbeing. She has sought support from her GP on weight loss and is following advice on healthy eating. She has also been referred to an exercise on prescription service. However, she is finding it challenging to remain mobile as her current seating does not facilitate an easy sit to stand and so remaining physically active is effortful and is affecting her motivation. She works from home but is finding it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand due to her joint pain and the fact that she is tiring quickly. She is also experiencing redness and soreness on her buttocks.
In her current seating, Donna presents with the following postural challenges:
- Fatigue
- General weakness
- Pelvic instability
- Pain
It was essential for Donna to have a comprehensive assessment with the aim of identifying appropriate specialist bariatric seating as her posture and pressure management needs were not being met. The correct chair would manage her postural challenges whilst allowing her to engage in much needed lifestyle changes.
Following her assessment, and with input from her team of health and care professionals, it was evident that Donna’s needs would be best met with our bariatric seating The HydroTiltXL. The HydroTiltXL includes all the tried and trusted features of our much loved HydroTilt but has an increased 35 stone maximum user weight. It is a robust supportive chair that offers comfort with optimum posture and pressure management for individuals with increased body weight and size:
- The reconfigured waterfall back allows extra space to comfortably accommodate Donna’s gluteal shelf improving her pelvic stability
- The negative angle leg rest allows a more stable placement to assist Donna with standing, empowering her to continue being mobile and thus physically active
- Powered tilt-in-space promotes energy management and encourages pressure redistribution away from Donna’s buttocks
- Integral pressure management encourages maximum support with the aim of resolving Donna’s pressure injuries
At CareFlex, we strongly believe in our ethos: we strive to balance posture and pressure management with the individual’s own goals, whilst promoting comfort, independence and a meaningful life.
Get in touch to arrange a free no-obligation assessment if you think you or your loved one need support from CareFlex specialist seating, like Donna, to meet specific posture and pressure management needs.
