The ability to get around ones home is essential to physical and mental well being. For many this task might seem simple and even trivial, but if you are not able to easily climb the stairs then getting around the home might not be all that simple. Many people install stair lifts in their home to make it easier to get around.
There are many factors in life that can result in limited mobility, which often makes things like climbing the stairs or even taking a bath very difficult. Often a severe case of arthritis alone can make it hard if not impossible to climb the stairs, but if you couple that with a poor sense of balance, then the risk of accident or injury is much greater.
It is no surprise that falling down the stairs is the number one cause of hospitalization among people who are over the age of 65, but it might be surprising to learn that falling down the stairs is also the number one cause of accidental death in this same age group. While it can be very dangerous to use the stairs, installing a stair lift will help to greatly reduce these risks.
A stair lift is a device that is most commonly installed to interior staircases, but some models are available that are weather proof and can be placed indoors or out. They are designed to carry a person up and down the stairs in a safe and reliable manner.
Stair lifts use a track and car system and is secured directly to the stairs. The track remains stationary and must be securely bolted or screwed into the staircase. The car then travels up and down the track with its single safe rider. Most frequently the car will use a chair to carry the occupant, but some instead use a small platform that is called a perch. The perch requires that you remain standing though, so is not the best choice for most people.
While the track is generally attached directly to the steps, in some cases it will instead be secured to the wall or banister. This is usually only done on curved staircases, but in some instances where the staircase is exceedingly narrow, the width of the staircase might necessitate that the track be installed to the wall. For those that have a concrete, brick, or stone staircase, usually the track can still be secured to the steps using specially designed screws.
People who decide to use and install a stair lift can effectively reduce their risk of falling to almost nil. Of course, you still must be very careful entering or exiting the lift, but most chair lifts are designed so that you can swivel the chair away from the stairs to safely exit the lift.
It is also important that you remain in the seat or on the platform as the lift carries you up or down the stairs. This is one of the reasons that the perch lift is usually not the best choice. Perch lifts require a strong sense of balance, so are generally only used by people who have had knee surgery.
Those that decide to use and install a stair lift in their home will never be left stranded and will also never be forced to neglect areas of their home that are separated by a staircase.