Want to Stand? Start by calling your physician!

So you need a stander, but you’re not sure where to begin…

Before you start the acquisition process, please stop looking at standers and funding for standers, and start by calling your physician. If you’re followed by a homecare or outpatient Physical or Occupational Therapist, see if they can communicate with your treating physician to determine if it is appropriate for you to stand/weight bear.

This medical precaution must be exercised when using standers of any kind, in order to avoid the risk of injury, such as fractures, postural hypotension or issues with contractures. If you have not been standing for a significant amount of time or this is your first time standing since injury or disease onset, it is necessary to obtain a physician’s approval to assess your standing tolerance. In some cases your physician may request that you have an X- ray or bone density assessment before giving you the okay to stand. Any existing bone loss or osteoporosis might cause fractures if you start standing without an individually designed standing program.

So take the first step to standing, and see your physician.

This is the first in a series of blog posts on obtaining funding for standing frames by Nancy Perlich, Funding Specialist at Altimate Medical Inc.

photo credit: aprilzosia