New Mobility

 

May 6, 2025 - View in browser

PRODUCTS Not A Wheelchair Offers Affordable Wheelchair Wheels and Wooden Handrims Not A Wheelchair sells custom manual wheelchairs starting at $999 and is now bringing its “functional and inexpensive” ethos to wheelchair components. It's offering a set of lightweight rear wheels — complete with tires, tubes and handrims — for $350 a pair, and wooden handrims for $199 a pair. NEWS $40 Million Cut Threatens SCI Recovery Research The 2025 federal funding bill passed by Congress cut the entire $40 million budget of the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program, which funded research projects that included more than 5,000 participants and helped push along major advances like epidural and transcutaneous stimulation. Researchers worry the cuts will impact their ability to fund vital functional recovery treatments. TRIBUTE The Heart of New Mobility Jean Dobbs worked at NM for 34 years and helped produce 350 print issues before retiring last week. Rising from intern to publisher, her behind-the-scenes leadership has sustained NM for decades, and we can’t thank her enough for her skill and dedication to telling authentic stories from the community. Read how a series of chance encounters led Dobbs to a career she never saw coming. SPONSORED CONTENT Hand Control Users Denied Equal Access to Hertz Rental Cars Disability Rights Advocates, a legal nonprofit, has a class action against Hertz for failing to provide hand controls in most types of rental vehicles. We’re asking the court to order Hertz to change its policies. If you’ve tried to rent a vehicle with hand controls from Hertz, we want to hear from you! Just fill out the form (link above). More is Possible: The MÁS Offers a New Kind of Activity-Based Therapy The MÁS, a new addition to the paralysis rehab toolkit, offers a multifunctional system that supports natural biomechanics and ground interaction. Developed through extensive clinical collaboration, it enhances patient fitness and well-being, leading to significant improvement in mobility in some cases. Now globally available, the MÁS offers a fresh take on activity-based therapy. SPORTS AND FITNESS Adaptive Boxing Rolls into the Ring At a small gym in northern Virginia, a group of wheelchair users comes together every week to practice the sweet science of adaptive boxing. “Not a lot goes through your head because you’ve been training so long that it’s almost like your body knows what it needs to do. It feels like everything’s in slow motion — like it’s The Matrix,” says boxer Joanna Bonilla. Read how the fledgling sport is attracting new participants to its unique blend of fitness and competition. PRO TIPS How to Make Air Travel More Accessible: A Conversation with Kelly Buckland Wheelchair user and long-time advocate Kelly Buckland served as a disability policy advisor for the Department of Transportation and helped push through much-needed air travel accessibility reforms. We talked with him about what he learned working at the DOT, what he sees happening under the current administration, and how wheelchair users can fight for safer, more accessible air travel.

New Mobility publishes member content for United Spinal Association, whose mission is to empower wheelchair users to achieve their highest quality of life. Join here.

Copyright © 2025 United Spinal Association. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 102 Duane Road Fort Totten NY 11359