cushion ideas

[Poppy]

Any suggestions what I can use on my scooter seat- must be available in the UK. For my wheelchair a home made U shape out of memory foam works ok but it's far too big for my scooter. I've bought coccyx cushions; 2 strengths; one too hard, one too soft, a foam pad cut to shape (too hard); a foam toilet seat raiser (too soft). My scooter has slight foam padding but is still way too hard. I can no longer propel myself in my wheelchair so desperately want to get my independence back by using my scooter. The only place I can sit comfortable is in my car where the seat has raised sides and I can sit sort of tipped up on one side.

[garth]

I made a cushion at home that works okay for my pain, with the idea it should take pressure off the anal region and also reduce it around the ischial tuberosities (where pressure tends to be maximum naturally when one sits, the red points in the graph http://www.tipna.org/faq/SittingPressur ... bution.gif). It is a little complicated but it worked alright for me, I use it at work. A large scissors or an electric knife can be used to cut the foam.

1) Foam should be nor too soft nor too hard as both will tend to create high pressure areas around the ischial tuberosities. I started off with a cushion with 32 density and with dimensions 44 cm (width) x 42 cm (length) x 8cm (height).
2) Making the cushion slightly inclined, higher at the back and lower in the front. This will get your weight transferred to the front part of the thighs. I used a very large knife to slice off the bottom part in the front of the cushion. Didn’t come out very neat but I got the gradient.
3) Make a long rectangular cut through the centre of the cushion, starting from the back side of the cushion (the side where your back would be) to around midway. The cut should be long enough so that even if your’re sitting at slightly different points relative to the cushion, the anal region and perineum still fall on the cut out. What worked best for me was the cut being slightly longer than midway of the cushion. Though there are cushions whose cuts go all the way to the front like the ones on http://www.icnsales.com/chair-cushions. The width of the cut that works best for me is 4 cm which is narrow but I made an adjustment described below that increases the area where the perineum can sink.
4) I made two additional triangular cuts around the cut out which made the cut out wider at the bottom and narrower on top of the cushion. I’m giving the dimensions next to help visualise where these two cuts need to be made. At the top ie 8 cm height the width of the main cut (made in point 3) is 4 cm, then as we move lower, at 7 cm height it is also 4 cm, at 6 cm it is 4 cm, (but now with the two triangular cuts) at 5 cm it is 5 cm, at 4 cm it is 6 cm, at 3 cm it is 7 cm, at 2 cm it is 8 cm, at 1 cm it is 9 cm and at 0 cm (ground) it is 10 cm. So this will give you two flaps of 3 cm width on both side of the main central cut of 4 cm width, and the ischial tuberosites will rest on these flaps which will bend when you sit on them while giving support. This arrangement provides a gradual increase in pressure from the no pressure (central cutout zone) to where the cushion begins as you move laterally since the cushion gradually thickens laterally (with just a central cut out zone with no flaps, it will lead to very high pressure on the edges of the cushion around the cutout and this is where the ischial tuberosities would be and it’ll cause pain; ischial tuberosities have about 10-12 cm distance from each other).

[Poppy]

http://www.icnsales.com/chair-cushions

The cushions described on here for prostate problems look exactly what I need for my scooter.They recommend trying out two different weights However they are in the USA so sending them back would be prohibitive. Does anyone know of anything like this in the UK?

What I made for my armchair works well but is simply too big for a scooter seat. These look great.

[lindsayg]

I have posted this on another thread but its worth repeating. The best cushion I have found is the twin cheeks cushion from cushionyourassets.com.
Trudy is very helpful and you can send in questions on the comment section to help you in deciding which thickness is best for you
Good luck! I bet you'll love it
Lindsay

[Jackel]

I just bought a piece of 5 inch thick foam and cut it in half. Then I carved an eclipse where my lower hamstrings hit the cushion. Put the two in a pillowcase. Then you can arrange the foam pieces where you want them and you have the added benefit of portability and affordibility.

[skyblue]

I have found the best cushions to be U-shaped cushions that are originally intended as neck cushions.

Cushions like this for example:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neck-Cushtie-Yo ... d_sim_kh_2

These have been the most practical for me, but because they're not designed to be sat on they do inevitably become compressed and saggy over time. I have found the ones above to last only about two weeks before the micro-beads become too compressed, but there are other brands made of a firm velvet that can last a good few months like this for example:-

http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Go+Trave ... lt,pd.html

[david s.]

Mccarty's Sacro-Ease makes an excellent cushion, as does Cushion Your Assets. They are similar in having separate supports for right and left legs, with a cut-out in the middle. McCarty's has a metal and rubber frame under the firm polyurethane foam you sit on, so it works on chair surfaces which may be poorly designed. The support under the Cushion Your Assets cushion is more flexible, but has the advantage that the distance between right and left leg supports can be adjusted.

[PatrickB]

I've tried every cushion possible and the Roho does provide some pain relief. I customized mine to fit by deflating some of the air fingers with rubber bands. My pelvic PT showed me how to do it so my sit bones are not supporting weight. I can go from sitting less than 5 minutes to now making it over an hour.

[Violet M]

Brilliant idea with the rubberband, Patrick. I wish I had thought of that back when I needed it!

Violet

[penney]

The tush cush has worked the best for me. It does not totally eliminate but sure helps