DEI Document - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Nov. 03, 2017
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	INVACARE CORPORATION
Entity Central Index Key	0000742112
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false
Common Shares [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		32,830,076
Class B Common Shares [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		6,357