Whether you use crutches for short-term rehabilitation, or a long-term recovery plan is ahead of you, there’s no need either to panic, or to consider it’s the end of your life. As a matter of fact, life can suck less on crutches as long as you follow our specially tailored pack of some useful tips for being on crutches. Well, let’s get started and list them all!
Tips for using crutches at home
In the beginning, you might not feel confident enough to get outside of your house with the crutches. There’s nothing bad in this. Eventually, you will find strength and start making short walks whether around your house or even across the whole district.
Moreover, it’s essential to become stable enough before overtaking a long walk wherever you want. Up to then, follow these tips on using crutches at home:
1. Get your home ready for your rehabilitation
In other words, make sure your home is safe and prepared enough for movements with crutches and to be more specific, for unstable movements as in the beginning you will be a bit shaky. Make more space in each premise and remove all the risky elements you can bump or hurt yourself.
2. Make sure you have everything necessary around you
Getting some big pocket to stick on your belly with everything you need – like keys, mobile phones, and even water is a great idea. On the other side, it would be a blessing to reorganize any of the premises you will spend most of the time – where you will cook, eat, relax, do your exercises.
3. On mandatory, have someone to assist you during your first days
Whether it’s going to be a professional assistant or a relative, in the beginning, you will need some proper help. And if you don’t have anyone around, ask a neighbor to check up on you once in a while. Inviting guests from other towns you have wished to see for a long time is also a stunning idea.
Tips on how to walk with crutches
Now, let’s skip to the point – how exactly to use crutches with no pressure and no big risks to get hurt. Well, the next tips are all focused on these purposes:
- Be extremely attentive during the primary “education” in the hospital regarding using the crutches. Indeed, this might be a temporary pair of crutches given to you from the rehabilitation therapist, but eventually, you can use his / her guides on any other pair of crutches.
- When walking with crutches, make small steps in the beginning. It’s very important not to put too much pressure on your leg.
- When choosing the perfect crutches for yourself, always test. The good news is that in 90% of the online purchases you will have the right to return the product if it does not fit you. Ask your therapist about a specific model you should look for or read as many crutch reviews as possible to get the best pair.
- Equip yourself with all necessary accessories to simplify your usage of crutches. It’s all about being modern these days and medicine has its own innovation trend, too.
- If taking crutches for an example, you will find many great offers for accessories to add in your crutches experience – like grids, cushions, pads and etc. All of them try to eliminate the risk of side effects like getting your skin irritated, having bruises due to long-term walking with crutches and even slips or falling down on an uneven surface.
- Be extremely careful when adjusting the crutches specifically to your body weight. Today’s modern crutches are made in a way to fit anybody regardless of his / her height. On the other side, overweight is never a good condition to use crutches.
- The more you weigh the more pressure your healthy leg and hands will experience. Though, there are even crutches specially made for people with overweight, too.
- Make your first steps by following all the guides you have received from your therapist. Usually, they say you this…
When walking with crutches hold your injured foot cocked slightly behind your body, several inches from the floor so that it does not drag.
How to use crutches safely on the stairs
Eventually, everyone will face some stairs to overcome. The first time is truly frustrating, but once you go up and then, down the stairs with no injuries or pressure, you will understand that there’s nothing to worry about. Plus, you have our special tips on using crutches on stairs, as well:
1. Make sure your healthy leg is ahead when going up the stairs
Face the stairs and hold the handrail with one hand. Tuck the crutches beneath your armpit on the other side. Step up with your good foot and keep your injured foot behind you. Lean on the crutches as you take the next step with your good fit and again bring your injured foot up from behind.
2. Now, when you go down the stairs, you should have your unhealthy leg in front of you
Hold the crutches under one armpit and grasp the handrail with your other hand. Carefully hop down to the next step. Hop down one step at a time until you reach the bottom. If the steps don’t have a handrail, lower your crutches to the stair below, move your injured leg down, then step down with your other foot with your weight on the handgrips.
How to use the crutches at the outdoors
Start your experience with the crutches at the outdoors with a small and short walk around your house. The more you practice, the longer your distance away from your home might become. On the other side, it’s a good thing to have these tips in mind:
1. There’s nothing wrong to ask for help if you see a surface you cannot pass. Even if it’s a stranger in front of you, no one would decline your polite claim.
2. Make sure to avoid the following types of surfaces: wet, uneven, sandy and slipping. If you are able to, go around and even you should walk for longer, it’s better rather than having an accident.
3. Prepare for the weather condition. There might be sudden surprises like rain, but getting wet should not be something to get upset about.
How to use one crutch when it’s necessary
Some specialists believe that there are special occasions you should better leave one of the crutches and move with a single one.
1. When to use one crutch? – When you carry groceries, moving with big luggage, feeling one of your arms in severe pain while moving for a long distance or a long time with both of the crutches, desire to have one of your hands free to serve your kid or help someone else or negotiate the stairs in case you can find additional support in a railing form
1. What to be careful about when using one crutch?– you will have to add additional pressure and even a certain dose of discomfort to the leg that’s actually injured, plus there’s a risk of falling, as well as some additional (in most cases temporary) pain in the hand/arm that’s linked to the side of the single crutch you use
2. Use one crutch only on a safe and flat surface. For this purpose, it is a must to put the crutch under the arm that’s the opposite of your injured leg. It’s normal to think off that in this way you are going to minimize the risk of point 3 from the previous paragraph. The next thing to consider is the specific site to use the crutch on.
Now, when you know the top tips of using crutches, you might be 100% confident about your successful rehabilitation. Plus, you understand that no matter how hard it looks in the beginning, there’s actual life on crutches, too.
Please, let us remind you that these are not recommendations from a real doctor and the material has the only informative characteristic. Always ask your therapist if you have special questions to ask or professional help to receive.
