DEI Document	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Nov. 05, 2012 Common Class B (Authorized 12,000 shares; 1,085 and 1,086, issued and outstanding in 2012 and 2011, respectively - no par	Nov. 05, 2012 Common Class A [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	INVACARE CORPORATION
Entity Central Index Key	0000742112
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		1,084,747	30,849,038