4 Helpful Tips For Getting Your Pants Up In A Wheelchair

I don’t know how long you’ve been a wheelchair user, but for those who weren’t always wheelchair-bound, it’s obviously quite an adjustment. And one of the worst parts of this new lifestyle is pulling up your pants. That may sound silly to non-wheelchair users, but it’s a very real problem. Just try to get your pants on without using your legs at all and you’ll see just how difficult it can be.

If you find yourself struggling to get your Dockers up, then read on. We have four helpful tips for getting your pants up in a wheelchair:

Lay down if possible

When you’re getting dressed in the morning, the easiest way is to probably lay down on your bed. You can then use your upper body to help elevate your legs off of the ground, which will make pulling your pants up easier.

Wear comfortable pants

This may not be feasible if you have to go to work or out to run errands, but elastic waistbands are a major help. You’ll find such waistbands in track pants, pajama pants, sweatpants and basketball shorts. Plus, they’re very comfortable. Additionally, there are some types of jeans that come with elastic waistbands, for both men and women.

Wiggle like Jason Derulo

I don’t know how familiar you are with Platinum-selling recording artist Jason Derulo, but he was behind last year’s popular “Wiggle” (note: video is a bit NSFW). And wiggling will help you quite a bit when you have to pull your pants up. By squirming and wiggling, you’ll be able to inch those pants up more easily. It’s still a bit of a process, but moving around a bit will help. Don’t believe me? The Wheelchair Mommy agrees.

Purchase Pants Up Easy

I apologize for the self-promotion, but if you’ll indulge me just for a moment; this is exactly the situation Pants Up Easy was created for. Our founder realized how difficult it was for his wheelchair-bound friend to pull up his pants and wanted to create a solution. Pants Up Easy is a solution so simple, you probably wish you’d thought of it.

Functioning like a spare pair of stationary arms, Pants Up Easy is incredibly easy to use: You set it up behind the toilet, then flip down its armrests when you need to get up. You can drape your arms over the armrests for support and easily pull your pants up in seconds. And if you want that kind of accessibility on the go, we have a portable version as well