Four Tips For Pulling Your Pants Up If You Have ALS

Living with ALS can make many different aspects of life a bit of a challenge. After all, ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Depending on the severity of the disease, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost, leading to loss of the ability to speak, eat, move and breathe.

If you are suffering from ALS, you may be at a point where pulling up your pants has become difficult because you are in a wheelchair. The four tips below will help guide you through the process in the simplest way possible.

1. Wear Appropriate Clothes

 

When you know that you will be faced with the task of pulling your pants back up multiple times a day, it’s always in your best interest to wear something that will make the process a bit easier. Many companies design clothing specifically for wheelchair users. These items are typically made of material that slides up well, is free of buttons and zippers, and is cut in a way that makes dressing and undressing more simple.

2. Find a Sturdy Location

 

When first getting dressed in the morning, many wheelchair users find that it’s easier to do so while lying in bed. If you are pulling your pants up after using the restroom, you likely won’t have that option. In this case, it’s personal preference whether you prefer to pull your pants up while on the toilet or to transfer back into your chair. Some find that they have more leverage while seated at a toilet with grab bars, although other feel more secure while seated in their char. Whichever you choose, be sure that you are able to adequately support your weight before you begin to pull up your pants.

3. Get Things in Order

 

If you do decide to transfer back to your wheelchair, make sure that your wheels are locked in place before doing so. You will also want to pull your pants up to your knees so that they don’t become tangled around your ankles in the process of moving. Once you’re in the seat that you wish to be in, you can begin pulling your pants up by rocking side to side. While you are leaning to one side, pull your pants up on the other. This may take a few times of moving from one side to the other, but it is the method that most people find easiest.

4. Use a Helpful Tool

 

If you’ve tried the above tips and are still having difficulty, it may be worth it to invest in a few helpful tools. A transfer board can be quite useful when it comes time to move from your wheelchair to the toilet and back, and may also be used to transfer into chairs, cars, beds, and so on. This device is designed to be portable, sturdy, flat, and stable, allowing you to safely slide from one location to another. Another excellent tool at your disposal is Pants Up Easy. This product can be purchased and installed in your home to make the process of pulling your pants up much simpler. Available in either a wall mount, wall frame, or free standing model, Pants Up Easy is a device that will allow you to pull up your pants in three quick steps. You will simply put your arms out over the arm supports, put your arms down to pull your pants up which will allow the arm supports to fold down, then grab your pants and pull them up. This can take the process of pulling your pants up from one of agonizing frustration to one that takes less than a minute.

Pulling up your pants when you have ALS is no easy task, but the above tips should help make things a bit easier for you. By taking the time to get things in order before hand as well as leaning on the assistance of helpful tools, you can rest assured that pulling up your pants isn’t the most difficult task you will face in your day.