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A Ringing Recommendation For the Rollator
COPD makes stairs seem higher and walking distances longer. However, a new study confirms what many people already know: rollators--a wheeled walker that is pushed along--can make walking much easier and that makes living much easier.
The study, as published in the October issue of Chest, took place at an outpatient clinic in a Belgium hospital; 14 patients (1 with mild COPD, 5 with moderate COPD, 6 with severe COPD and 2 with very severe COPD) took a six-minute walk aided with the rollator and unaided--both the patient order and the aided/unaided order was randomized. The results were clear: the average walking distance without the rollator was 416 meters as compared to 462 meters with the rollator. Even better, the rollator improved the patient's oxygen uptake and reduced the possibility of dyspnea (shortness of breath). The study concluded that the rollator's preservation of momentum increased the patient's walking efficiency, decreased the effort needed for each step and thus, improved the patient's breathing abilities.
With a larger sample size, another study produced the same ringing recommendation of the rollator. This study was conducted two years earlier, the findings published in the July 2002 issue of Chest. Over 2 days, 40 patients took a 6 minute walk aided with the rollator and unaided. Each patient walked with the rollator and without the rollator on both days; the aided/unaided order was randomized the first day and then reversed the day after. The study found that patients who needed to rest during the unaided walk best benefited from the rollator. Nonetheless, compared to the unaided six-minute walks, every patient's six-minute walks with the rollator were always longer and with reduced dyspnea.
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