Stroke patient Kjell Groven uses the TOPRO Step stair climber for daily stair climbing and thus trains his stair climbing skills. (This article is taken from the Norwegian magazine "Foreningen for Slagrammede", a magazine for stroke patients, the issue was published in June 2018): The entrepreneurs themselves have grandparents who have difficulty climbing stairs. This prompted the three young entrepreneurs in Trondheim to develop a new aid that makes it possible to climb the stairs safely and also helps to maintain walking function and muscle tone.
Many people need aids to help them cope with everyday life. The aim of these aids must be to make everyday life easier and to maintain or improve functions.
In Trondheim, three young entrepreneurs have specialized in this topic and developed a stair climbing aid that enables safe training during rehabilitation. Last but not least, it offers many people the opportunity to live at home for longer without having to move their bedroom into the living room or renovate their house.
In Norway, around 30,000 people are injured by falling down stairs every year. Around 80% of them are over 65 years old.
These were the motivations for the three students Eirik Medbø, Halvor Wold and Ingrid Lonar at the Entrepreneurship School of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology to develop the TOPRO Step stair climber in the fall of 2011.
After developing and carrying out pilot tests with 4-5 prototypes in 2013 and 2014, the stair climber was finally launched on the market in 2015. The following year, the first private installations were carried out via the Norwegian aid center.
So far, the entrepreneurs have installed more than 1000 products, from the Arctic Circle in the north to France in the south - in Norway, around 30% of those who use the TOPRO Step stair climber at home are stroke patients.
One of these users is Kjell Groven (72) from Trondheim. He suffered a stroke on May 17, 2017 and has had increasing difficulty walking up the stairs at home for several years.
"I've noticed that the strength in my legs has become less and less over the last few years. It's the same with my balance. My ability to react has also deteriorated, so I fall a lot. I can't count how many times I've fallen, it's more than I can count on two hands."
The fact that it will be three former students who solve Kjell's stair climbing challenge was not necessarily obvious - and it was quite by chance that he discovered the TOPRO Step stair climbing aid:
"After I suffered the stroke and started training, I searched the internet myself for ways to adapt my stairs at home for me. We live on three floors, so I am completely dependent on climbing stairs to be able to continue living at home."
Both Kjell and his physiotherapist agreed that it was important to keep his body moving in order to maintain his walking and muscle function. A stairlift was therefore out of the question, as it would make him passive.
"I saw online that you can try out the TOPRO Step stair climber in Trondheim, so I went to one of these exhibitions with my physiotherapist to try it out. It went very well and we then applied for the TOPRO Step stair climber from the Norwegian Central Office for Assistive Products and it was installed in our home a short time later."
"Without the TOPRO Step stair climber, my alternative would have been to move into a care home - something that neither I nor my wife wanted."
Take a look at Kjell's video
In collaboration with the occupational and physiotherapists at Trondheim Municipality and St. Olav Hospital, Kjell has drawn up a fixed training plan that he tries to follow. In May, Kjell and his wife spent 14 days at their summer house in Fosen. They live on one floor, so he was unable to train climbing stairs there.
"I try to train standing up 2-3 times a day, walking sideways and climbing stairs. In the two weeks that I've been living on one floor, I've noticed that my physical condition has deteriorated because I haven't received the necessary training for my leg muscles."
"It was therefore difficult to get back home and get back into the usual rhythm of exercise."
Stair training is used in rehabilitation and is a good exercise for maintaining leg function right in your own home.
To carry out an on-site inspection and receive a quote, make an appointment with us. Once you have accepted the quote, we will carry out the installation, which usually only takes a few hours. .
TOPRO Step is TĂśV-tested and certified and meets all functional and safety requirements.
TOPRO Step is designed so that it can be easily adapted to your staircase. It can be installed on straight stairs, curved stairs and stairs with a landing.
Ask your health insurance company about the possibility of cost coverage or possible subsidies. Please note that these options are country-specific and individual.
TOPRO Step means TOPRO quality. When you buy a TOPRO Step, you receive a guarantee of up to 5 years.
We measure success by satisfied customers, which is our top priority. We already have over 4,000 satisfied users throughout Europe.
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TOPRO Step Expert
+47 902 931 00
Monday - Friday
08:00 - 16:00 o'clock.
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TOPRO Step
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Peder was born with CP and previously needed help and support from an adult when climbing stairs. With the TOPRO Step mechanical stair climbing aid, he managed to climb the stairs all by himself the first time he tried it out.
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