How to Fit and Use CrutchesWeight Bearing Restrictions Show Your doctor may have given you weight bearing restrictions on your leg which tells you how much weight you can put through your leg. Weight Bearing as Tolerated Partial Weight Bearing Toe Touch Weight Bearing Non Weight Bearing No matter what your weight-bearing restrictions are, make sure that you never lean on the tops of your crutches. You can hurt a nerve causing numbness and tingling in your arm. Put all of your weight through your hands, not your armpits. How to fit your crutches:
Standing Up Sitting Down Walking
Going Up Stairs
Going Down Stairs
If you do not feel steady on crutches, a walker is another option. The walker does offer more stability. If you need to go up one step with a walker you should do this backwards. Going down one step you should go forwards, leading with your walker and your injured leg. More than one step is not safe with a walker. Be sure to sit for a few minutes before standing while sitting. Review the process for the safe use of crutches. Once you are standing, be sure that you are stable before you start moving. If at any time you do not feel stable, you should stop and sit down on a safe surface. In conclusion, be sure to check with your healthcare team to determine whether or not crutches are the safest choice for your situation. Be sure that your environment is also safe for the use of crutches. This means that your environment should be free of clutter. There should be no throw rugs or loose edges on carpeting and absolutely do not use crutches on wet surfaces. If you have any questions or you have any difficulty using crutches, please discuss these with your health care team. Learn more: Find an orthopaedic specialist Cast and splint care Waterproof cast care What is a 2 point crutch gait?A gait in which the right foot and left crutch are advanced simultaneously, then the left foot and right crutch are moved forward. See: Gait Using One Crutch.
How do you instruct a patient to use crutches?Put the crutches under your arms. Relax your arms and let them hang down over the crutches. There should be a two inch space between your armpit and the top of the crutch with your hands hanging relaxed. The hand grips should be at the level of your wrist when holding the hand grips.
What is a 4 point gait with crutches?Four-Point Gait
This is most commonly used to provide assistance with walking when both legs are in a weakened condition. To use this gait, put the right crutch out and step with the left foot. Then put the left crutch out and step with your right foot. The pattern is right crutch- left foot and left crutch-right foot.
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