Once you come home from the hospital or the doctor’s office, the real life of a patient begins. You must maneuver your home and environment without the help of nurses and other healthcare professionals. Standing in your home, many questions come to you. Here is a cheat sheet of the basics to keep you safe.
HOW TO ADJUST CRUTCHES
Using Crutches at Home in Different Situations
Walking
To begin with, the crutches are held by your arms and alongside your body. You stand in good posture and avoid hanging on the crutch pad.
Sitting Down
When choosing a place to sit down, look for a stable, firm, and supportive chair preferably with armrests. This will make it easier for you to sit down and stand up. To sit down, you need to take both crutches in one hand, holding both by the hand grips. After checking that you feel steady in that position, reach out with your hand to the armrest or surface of a chair to support yourself. Ensuring good balance, you slowly lower your body to the chair.
It is important to control the whole motion.[2]
Standing Up
To get up from the chair, place both crutches in one hand, holding them at the hand grips. It is helpful to scoot closer to the edge of the chair for increased ease of getting up. Then keeping your other hand on the chair for support and balance, you slowly get up. Once you feel steady, you can place the crutches, one under each armpit, in preparation for walking.[2]
Using Stairs
Using stairs while walking on crutches is a challenging activity because it is easy to lose your balance and fall. Such risk is especially high if there is no handrail. Thus, to protect yourself from falling you should give a preference to stairs with the handrail. If you feel unsure of yourself, you may consider asking someone to support you for the first several times, or until you become more confident and skillful in using crutches on stairs.[2]
To successfully use stairs under conditions of limited mobility, you need to be in good physical shape, and specifically, can bear weight through your arms. Good balance and control are also required.[1]
Moving Upstairs
To walk upstairs, you hold the handrail with one hand, and place both crutches in the other hand holding onto the hand grips. You need to ensure that the crutches stand steady on the surface to be used for weight-bearing. If you are allowed to weight bear on your leg:
– first step with your healthy leg
– then put the injured leg on the stair
– and then bring your crutches forward.
If you are non-weight-bearing you distribute the weight between the handrail and the crutches and jump up to the next stair with your good leg.[2]
In case there is no handrail and you have to move upstairs by yourself, you put one crutch under each armpit and hop on your strong leg to your next step. Another option is to sit backwards on the stairs and scoot up using your good leg.[1]
Moving Downstairs
To walk downstairs, you hold the handrail with one hand, and place both crutches in the other hand holding onto the hand grips. To support yourself, place both crutches one step below and check that they are placed steadily. If you are allowed to weight bear on your leg: Placing weight onto the handrail and crutches, you put your injured leg on the step below, and then step with your healthy leg.If you are non-weight-bearing, you distribute the weight between the handrail and the crutches and jump up to the next stair with your good leg.
In a case, if there is no handrail and you do not have anyone in the vicinity to support you, you need to hold one crutch under each arm, and put them below one step at a time. Then, you bring down your injured leg and, finally, take a step with your healthy leg. Another option is to sit on the stairs and scoot down using your good leg.[2]
Multitasking ADLs with WB status
For each of the above activities of daily living (ADLs), it is very important to keep to your prescribed weight-bearing status to prevent further injury to the leg. ComeBack Mobility Crutch Tips with an immediate feedback system help you focus on the task at hand while letting you know if you are exceeding your weight-bearing status. This tool improves your recovery and safety in the home.
ComeBack Mobility: Where Every Step Matters
Take-home message
Hopefully your concerns about using crutches have been alleviated and you have strategies to be successful in your rehabilitation. When in doubt, ask your healthcare providers for assistance. They also want you to Comeback to mobility quickly.
