How Tobias (39) climbs stairs despite neuropathy with the help of the TOPRO Step stair climber!
Tobias has been using the TOPRO Step stair climber since summer 2017 to be able to use the very steep stairs in his home safely and independently.
Stroke patient Kjell Groven uses the TOPRO Step stair aid for daily stair climbing and thus trains stair climbing. (This contribution comes from the article of 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 allows for safe stair climbing and also helps to maintain walking function and muscle strength.
Many people need aids to cope with everyday life. The goal of these aids must be to make everyday life easier and to maintain or improve functions.
In Trondheim, three young entrepreneurs have specialized in the topic and developed a stair aid that allows for safe training during
rehabilitation.
Last but not least, this offers many people the opportunity to continue living at home longer without having to move the bedroom into the living room or renovate the house.
In Norway, around 30,000 people are injured annually due to falls on stairs. About 80% of them are over 65 years old.
These were the motives 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 stair aid TOPRO Step in the autumn of 2011.
One of these users is Kjell Groven (72) from Trondheim. He suffered a stroke on May 17, 2017, and has been having more and more difficulties going up the stairs at home for several years.
“I notice that the strength in my legs has been decreasing over the past few years. The same goes for my balance. My reaction time has also worsened, causing me to fall frequently. I can’t even 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 will solve Kjell’s challenge of climbing stairs was not necessarily obvious – and it was purely by chance that he discovered the stair aid TOPRO Step.
“After I had 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 in order to continue living at home.”
Both Kjell and his physiotherapist agreed that it was important to keep the body in motion to maintain his walking and muscle function. Therefore, a stairlift was out of the question as it would make him more passive.
“I saw online that you can test the TOPRO Step stair aid in Trondheim and then visited one of these exhibitions with my physiotherapist to try it out. It went very well and we subsequently applied for the TOPRO Step stair aid at the Norwegian Assistive Technology Center, and shortly afterwards it was installed at our place.
Without the TOPRO Step stair aid, my alternative would have been to move into a nursing home – something that neither my wife nor I wanted.”
Watch Kjell's video.
In collaboration with the ergo- and physiotherapists of the municipality of Trondheim and the St. Olav Hospital, Kjell has developed 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 there, so he could not train stair climbing there.
“I try to train getting up, walking sideways, and climbing stairs 2-3 times a day. In the two weeks that I lived on one floor, I noticed that my physical condition deteriorated because I did not receive the necessary training for my leg muscles.
It was therefore difficult to come back home and start again with the usual rhythm of movement.
The stair training is used in rehabilitation and is a good exercise for maintaining leg function directly at your 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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Do you have any questions?
Would you like a free and personal consultation? Get in touch with our TOPRO Step experts and book a free, no-obligation appointment directly at your home.
TOPRO Step Expert
+47 902 931 00
Monday - Friday
08:00 – 16:00 o'clock.
TOPRO Step Expert
+47 902 931 00
Monday - Friday
08:00 – 16:00 o'clock.
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We have compiled all frequently asked questions on the FAQ page
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TOPRO Step
Tobias has been using the TOPRO Step stair climber since summer 2017 to be able to use the very steep stairs in his home safely and independently.
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.
Eldri suffered a fractured neck of femur after she fell – so it was good that the TOPRO Step stair climber was already installed in her home. Originally, it was her husband Olav who was dependent on the TOPRO Step stair climber. After his rehabilitation and regular training, Olav was finally able to walk again with the help of crutches, but still needed help climbing stairs. For him, the stair climber was a great relief in everyday life, as he suddenly felt freer and more independent again.
Ex-professional athlete Dmitri Tschatschin trains with the stair climbing aid. “Of course you don’t expect a cross-section. This is now a new task in life and what doesn’t kill me only makes me tougher.”
Jan Erik regained more independence with the TOPRO Step stair climbing aid. On a fatal day in June 2017, exactly what unfortunately happens too often according to the statistics happened. Jan Erik (60) fell at home and landed in such a way that he suffered a partial fracture in his spinal cord. The first few months after the accident were difficult. Jan Erik experienced what it was like to be healthy and fit and suddenly be paralyzed. But thanks to his TOPRO Step stair climbing aid, he has now regained more independence.
Edmund uses the stair climber after his stroke. He has lived all his life in a typical manor house (Trønderlån) in the Tröndelag region of Norway and the last thing he wants is to have to move. After working with his wife to make the house barrier-free with the help of various aids for stroke patients, such as the TOPRO Step stair climber, he is now able to cope with everyday life within his own four walls.
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