Transfer aids — helping them move from bed to chair to bathroom
This article provides general information about transfer aids. The selection and safe use of transfer equipment should be determined in consultation with your parent's healthcare provider or physical therapist. Improper use can result in injury to your parent or to the person assisting them.
Your parent moves through the day in a series of transfers: from bed to chair, from chair to wheelchair, from toilet to standing. When these movements were easy, they happened without notice. Now they require attention. Your parent's legs might not be strong enough to push up. Their balance might be uncertain. Their arms might not grip well. The distance might feel too far. These movements, which happen dozens of times a day, have become negotiations with their own body.
Transfer aids are designed to bridge the gap between what your parent's body can do alone and what they can accomplish with assistance. They make movement safer, easier, and less dependent on one person being strong enough or positioned right to help. They preserve dignity because your parent is doing some of the work rather than being lifted entirely.
Types of Transfer Aids
A gait belt looks like a belt but is actually a transfer tool. Your parent or their helper wears it around the waist. The helper holds onto sturdy handles while your parent stands or transfers. It distributes the force across your parent's waist rather than potentially dangerous points like their arms or head. A gait belt costs little and is useful for almost any transfer situation where your parent needs help balancing or partial lifting assistance.
A transfer board is a smooth, slick board that sits between two surfaces. Your parent sits on one end, and the board reduces friction so they can slide across to the other side with much less effort. This is useful for transfers from bed to wheelchair or toilet to wheelchair. A transfer board doesn't work for all transfers and all people, but for those it does work for, it's remarkably effective.
Transfer handles are grab bars attached to the bed or toilet that your parent can pull on to help themselves up. These work when your parent has enough upper body strength and balance to do most of the lifting themselves. They just need something sturdy to pull on.
A bed rail is a handle that attaches to the side of a hospital bed or regular bed, giving your parent something to grab to help pull themselves up or to sit up in bed. This is less about transferring and more about managing movement within or out of bed.
A stand-assist walker is different from a regular walker. The top part is padded and at a height that your parent can lean their thighs against, which helps them stand up from a chair. As they stand, the walker gives them something to hold onto. The padding on the top bar provides some of the upward force. For someone with weak legs but decent upper body strength, this can mean the difference between being able to stand or not.
A mechanical lift, sometimes called a Hoyer lift, is the most intensive transfer aid. It's a frame with a hydraulic or electric motor that lifts your parent using a sling. Your parent sits in the sling, you position the lift over them, and the machine lifts them vertically. This works for significant mobility limitations or transfers that would be dangerous or impossible otherwise. It requires space, setup, and care, but for the right situation, it's invaluable.
Proper Body Mechanics for Helpers
If you're helping your parent transfer, how you do it matters. Poor body mechanics injure both you and your parent. Your parent might be twisted or pulled in a way that's painful. You might injure your back or shoulders.
When helping your parent stand from a sitting position, the correct approach is to face your parent, with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Your feet should be stable. Bend from the knees, not the back. You want to be lifting with your leg muscles, not your back. Hold your parent around the waist or with a gait belt. As they shift their weight forward and start to stand, you provide support and steadiness, not the entire lifting force. Your parent should be doing some of the work.
When helping your parent transfer from one surface to another, such as bed to wheelchair, the process usually involves your parent standing partway, pivoting, and sitting on the new surface. You're helping them balance and steady themselves, not doing all the work. Again, bend your knees, keep your back straight, and use your legs.
Never pull your parent by their arms or shoulders. This can dislocate joints or cause pain. Never try to lift your parent entirely if they have any ability to help themselves. The goal is assistance, not complete lifting, unless they truly cannot move themselves at all.
If transfers are frequent or if your parent is large or very dependent, mechanical lifts prevent injury to both of you. They take longer to set up, but they're safer. Using a lift is not failure. It's recognition that some transfers require equipment.
When to Get a Hoyer Lift
A mechanical lift becomes necessary when your parent cannot help with their own transfer at all. If they cannot stand, cannot shift their weight, cannot help push with their legs, a mechanical lift might be the only safe option. Trying to manually lift someone in these circumstances risks injury to both people.
A Hoyer lift also becomes necessary if the person helping has back problems, arm problems, or any physical limitation that makes manual lifting dangerous for them. There's no virtue in injuring yourself to help your parent. A mechanical lift solves this problem.
Mechanical lifts require space. You need room to position the lift, room for the boom to swing, room to maneuver. Some homes don't have this space. Some rooms are too narrow. This is a real constraint.
Mechanical lifts also require training. You and your parent both need to understand how to use them safely. Most equipment suppliers provide training. YouTube has videos. But it's not complicated. Most people learn in minutes.
The Longer View
Transfer aids change as your parent's needs change. What worked last year might not work next year. What seems unnecessary now might become essential if your parent has a stroke or serious illness. The conversation about transfer aids should happen early, before an emergency forces it. Your parent should know what's available, what's possible, what the options are.
These tools exist to keep your parent moving, transferring, participating in life. They exist to keep you safe while helping. They exist to maintain dignity and independence for as long as possible. Using them is not giving up. It's the continued work of keeping life as functional and as normal as it can be.
This article provides general information about transfer aids and body mechanics. Proper technique for transfers and the appropriate transfer equipment for your parent's specific situation should be discussed with a physical therapist or occupational therapist who can assess your parent's needs and abilities.