Aerseat: The must-have product.

We caught up with Maddie Gordon, our latest Aerseat trialist to find out about her experience of trialling our dynamic, postural seating system.

Maddie’s cat lying on Aerseat.

Maddie has complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and functional neurological disorder (FND) which causes her to be in pain 24/7. Her right leg is also paralysed. 

We asked Maddie about her current wheelchair, its set-up and her postural needs, this is what she had to say.

‘Currently, I use a Quickie Argon 2 from my local wheelchair services. I use the cushion that it came with (I didn’t pay extra for a different cushion or anything).

I do find that I have to re-adjust myself often with my current cushion, as there isn’t much rigidity to it. Sometimes it feels as though I’m sitting on the frame itself. I have been using the same cushion, day in, day out for over 4 years.

Before using Aerseat, my posture wasn’t great. I often slumped and leant to the left to balance myself as I have a lot of muscle weakness and muscle loss on my right side, causing me to be lopsided and uneven.

This impacts my pushing ability, especially uphill, as I don’t have full stability to be able to focus on the sole motion of getting up a hill. I have to think about not leaning too far over to the left because that impacts the path of my chair too.’

We asked Maddie about the impact that Aerseat has had on her posture and comfort.

‘Aerseat is so much more comfortable than my current cushion, it makes me feel so much more secure and comfortable. With the air cells, I can customise my position and elevate my right glute so I am naturally a bit more stable and therefore not slumping or leaning as much as I did with my current cushion. 

AerSeat pelvic air cells envelop and support users in a secured stable posture.

The key features of Aerseat for me is the right glute activation pad, and the lumbar and both thoracic areas as this helps me to feel stable, secure, and a lot more comfortable. I feel like I can push my chair for a lot longer, a lot more comfortably now.’

We also asked Maddie what she would say to other wheelchair users considering purchasing Aerseat in the future…

‘If  someone asked me if they should try Aerseat I would say ‘100%’. Especially if they find their current cushion and/or backrest not very supportive or comfortable, I’d tell them that Aerseat is the way to go! The tubes are a little fiddly to connect to begin with, but it is worth the extra 5 or so minutes to get everything set up for the extra comfort and support you get from it!’

AerSeat electronics box.

Maddie is hoping that a better posture with Aerseat will help her with her sporting goals and targets for the future. By being able to cycle the air cells within Aerseat, she will be able to maintain a better posture for longer without having to make that conscious effort to sit ‘straighter’.

She is looking forward to working out which Aerseat settings work best for her over time and that long-term it could help reduce lumbar pain which she experiences quite often.

One final comment from Maddie on her Aerseat experience;

‘Honestly I’d say Aerseat is a must have! It is fully customisable in the sense that you can choose where you get that extra support from and when! It allows me to feel more supported and secure in my chair, and I feel as though I can do so much more!

If you dismantle your chair often (like me), Aerseat can add a bit more time onto you dismantle and building of your chair, but especially for longer trips, it’s a no brainer for me!’

As always, a massive thank you to our trialists for being so open and honest with their feedback and giving of their time and energy in helping us finalise Aerseat.

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