Buying a rollator - Which is the right one?

If you think that a rollator is needed for you (or your relative), contact your family doctor. He can give you a prescription for a rollator. You will need to tell him exactly why you think the rollator is necessary. Is it just because you are unsteady when walking? Is there an illness that has caused it? Are you in pain? Your doctor is the best person to assess whether a rollator is appropriate in your case. If your doctor gives you a prescription, your health insurance will pay for a rollator. If there are no medical reasons why an expensive model with certain advantages is necessary, only the so-called "health insurance model" will be paid for. Therefore, the doctor should explain in as much detail as possible why a rollator - and in case of doubt, a better one than only the health insurance model - is needed.

Apart from the statutory co-payment, the health insurance model costs you nothing because the health insurance pays for it. If you were to buy the health insurance model yourself, you could get it for around 70 to 80 euros in a medical supply store. But because it is only the cheap "standard model", such a rollator does not offer any comfort. It merely fulfils its purpose - namely to ensure more safety and stability when walking. If such a cash model breaks down, the medical supply store is responsible for maintenance and repair. However, because the cost is disproportionately high compared to the purchase price, a defective health insurance model is usually not repaired, but simply replaced with a new one.

Depending on the distances covered with the rollator and the goal, it may be worth considering a more expensive model. The cost of a rollator can be more than ten times the cash model if you opt for a luxury version. However, the price of a good walking aid does not have to go through the roof. Sometimes it is enough to check your needs in advance. You can find out relatively easily whether you want to pay a little more money out of your own pocket if you work out exactly what requirements the rollator should meet. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Will you use the rollator inside the house, outside or both?
• Do you want to take the rollator with you in the car?
• Do you have to carry it up and down the stairs?
• Is the rollator often used as a seat?
• Is it also intended for short shopping trips?
• Are the paths on which the rollator is used level or are there slopes?  
• How tall and how heavy are you?
• Do you need forearm supports to relieve the joints because you have arthritis?

These questions should give you food for thought, because a standard walker model is usually not well suited to all requirements. If the walking aid is adapted to your individual needs, then the rollator, for example, is particularly light. A lightweight rollator is, for example, a carbon rollator, a special indoor rollator for the home. This narrow walker fits particularly well through doors inside the home. There is also the arthritis rollator, which sometimes includes padded underarm pads. There are foldable rollators, travel rollators, special outdoor rollators and rollators with pneumatic tyres, which are particularly suitable for outdoor activities on uneven paths.  The spectrum is wide, which is why the costs for a rollator are also very variable.

An older cash model is relatively heavy compared to the newer, so-called lightweight rollators made of aluminium or carbon, and can weigh up to twelve kilos. Although this circumstance provides stability when walking, it makes it more difficult to transport the rollator inside the stairwell, for example. Loading the walker into the car is also easier if the rollator is light. Around seven kilos is realistic for the better, newer models. In any case, a rollator that is transported in the car from time to time must be light and foldable. There are so-called "transverse folders" - these are the older models - and "longitudinal folders". For transport in the boot, longitudinal folders are the better choice. So if you already know that the rollator will have to be stored outdoors and often in the boot for trips to the countryside or for visits to the doctor, consider beforehand whether you can really cope with the cash model in everyday life.

Yes - even a walking aid with wheels needs brakes. Especially if the path in the house or yard is sloping. The hand brake, which acts on the rear wheels, is standard for rollators. Older people are afraid of the idea that the rollator could get out of control and roll away. In the worst case, this could lead to a fall on a sloping road - because the rolling wheels are faster than the feet. Therefore, it can happen that the rollator user always keeps the handbrake applied a little bit out of insecurity. If the brake levers of the rollator are then placed in an unfavourable position, the muscles in the fingers and arms will cramp at some point. It is therefore important to pay attention to the hand position of the brakes. If the brakes can be reached comfortably without unnatural twisting of the wrist, a lot has already been gained.

Brakes are also important when the rollator is used for sitting. Have you ever noticed that in the pedestrian zone, in the park or at the bus stop, rollator users comfortably turn their walker into a chair? This is only comfortable if the seat is large and stable enough and the brake is fixed. In addition to the brakes, make sure that the width and depth of the seat are appropriate for the user's physique.

Some models come with a backrest to make sitting more comfortable. However, it is up to the user to decide what is comfortable. If the rollator is to be used as a seat, try it out more to see if the backrest meets your expectations. If it is not already attached to the rollator, a so-called back belt can be mounted as an accessory.

Small wheels or large soft tyres? If the rollator is only used on asphalt paths, small wheels with little tread are sufficient. These wheels are not suitable for outdoor tours through the forest or on unpaved paths. If walks in nature are still on the agenda, large tyres are therefore the better option. From a size of 250 millimetres or even ten inches (10"), you can assume that the wheels are suitable for gravel and forest paths. The wheels of rollators for the home are much smaller.

Similar to a pram, the wheels of a rollator have to be moved over curbs or other elevations in woods and meadows by means of leverage in everyday life. A so-called tipping aid makes this much easier. Therefore, ask your medical supply store whether the rollator model you want has a tipping aid. If in doubt, a tipping aid can easily be retrofitted to the most common walking aids.

Bags, shopping nets and baskets - depending on the model chosen, different rollator accessories can make everyday life even easier. Apart from the transport containers, there are, for example, special mountable umbrellas, rollator lighting to be seen better, bells for the walker like on a bicycle, holders for walking sticks, and a special hand guard that is used similar to a muff and keeps hands nice and warm. 

Rollators are paid for by the health insurance if the doctor prescribes them. The health insurance fund decides which model to approve depending on the medical necessity. As a rule, the health insurance only pays for a standard model without much comfort. If you want such luxury for your rollator, you have to pay for it yourself. The prices vary greatly - at the end of the day, you have to decide for yourself which advantages are worth how much money. Don't be afraid to ask for detailed advice from the experts at the medical supply store. If you have thought about the purpose of the rollator besides the mere function of a walking aid, you can ask specific questions and better evaluate whether certain accessories are absolutely necessary - or not.