What is a Flip A Grip? - The Most Handy Grab Bar

Flip a Grip

"No more worries about falling while trying to get into or out of my house.  Now I can bring in a load of laundry with my left arm and safely get into the house with my right hand."  -Jean from California

Through my years of working as a physical therapist in the home, I have seen many patients struggle with the fight to maintain their independence.  We all want to be able to make our own choices and come and go as we please but unfortunately age and injury can put a damper on our plans.  Surgeries, injuries, illness and age bring challenges that can slow down the coming and going that you had been planning.  Something as simple as getting in and out of the house used to be a task you never thought about.  You bounded up the steps and through the doorway with ease.  Often you even carried groceries, laundry baskets and laughing, upside down toddlers with you.  Now though, if your knees hurt or your balance isn’t so great it can be a very dangerous endeavor just to get yourself up the step and through the door.   We probably all know someone, elderly or not, that has fallen on or down the steps and has been severely injured.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) one out of every three people over the age of 65 fall each year!  Once a person falls it is usually a downward spiral that is difficult to come back from.  In fact, the CDC also warns that 40% of people who end up in a nursing home due to a fall never return to living independently ever again!  Even the folks that do return to their prior level of function and independent living status have a lingering fear of falling again which can keep them from doing the more active things that they enjoy.  The Flip A Grip is a device that can be installed in your home so that you can avoid being sent to “the home”.Flip a grip assist handle

The Flip A Grip is a patent pending device I designed for my physical therapy patients that needed that extra support when going up and down stairs or transferring.  It is a sturdy handle small enough to fit in tight spaces, like doorways, and folds out of the way when you are not using it.  Each Flip A Grip is 100% handmade in the USA, comes with the mounting hardware and even glows in the dark to help in low light situations. The Flip A Grip is simply a strong, foldable handle small enough to fit in between a storm door and an exterior door and is perfect for folks that don’t have the strength, balance or confidence to get in and out of their home safely on their own.

 

flip a grip

The idea for the Flip A Grip began in 2012 when I was working as a physical therapist in home care.  I was treating a lady who had broken her hip and had had surgery to repair it. We worked at improving her strength, balance and mobility and eventually she was able to get up and down her steps from her garage to her back door.  With all of her hard work though, she still could not get up that final step to enter the door into her home.   She would grab for her walker or the door, or the door casing and trim but nothing made a good enough handle to push on.  Her hand rails were too far behind her and she needed that extra boost with her arms to get herself into the home.

I went to our local home medical supply store to buy something that might help her. The item I had in mind was not for sale though, so I became an inventor!  I carved the first prototype out of a broom handle and a closet organizer bracket and the adventure was on!  I designed at least ten different prototypes until arriving at the model you see now for sale on AllegroMedical.com.  The Flip A Grip has arrived on the scene and the world is such a brighter and better place because of it.  That’s a little bit of exaggeration, but I do think we have a pretty great little device that has been a blessing to those who have started using one.

Here’s what some users of the Flip A Grip have had to say:

"These handles are a lifesaver! I have two on each doorway and have bought more for the stairway. I don't care if they're everywhere, they look nice. Even my able-bodied friends use them, stepping up into the house. Love 'em! " -Ray from Illinois

“Excellent for elderly coming in and out of a door where they have to step up with out a handrail. Bought two for my father and he loves them. Very strong.”

“This is the perfect aide to help a stroke victim in and out of a door threshold. Would recommend it to anyone who needs a little help.”

“Disabled father loves it and uses it every day to go in and out to the garage and up and down 2 steps.”

Folks that will find the Flip A Grip helpful are those with decreased strength and balance, those who have difficulty standing from a seated position or that find ascending or descending steps safely a challenge.  People who simply have aching joints that make stairs and transfers painful will also love the Flip A Grip because it helps take the pressure off those painful joints.

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Finally, if I’ve done a poor, longwinded job of giving you a straight answer to the original question- What is a Flip A Grip, I apologize.  Here’s the abbreviated version for those of you, like me, that like a straight and to the point answer:  The Flip A Grip is a sturdy handle to help prevent falls and make steps and transfers easier.  It’s better than a grab bar in certain situations because its small, glows in the dark and folds out of the way.  If you buy one, I really do think you’ll find that it helps a great deal.  I’ve had lots of people say that they don’t know how they ever got along without it.

-Nick Hinkle, PT - Owner 323 Products, LLC

 

Since 1997 Allegro Medical has been a leading supplier of assisted living aids healthcare providers and consumers.  If you have recently undergone physical therapy, rely on AllegroMedical.com for all of your assisted living aids needs.