How to Make Crutches More Comfortable [Updated 2022]

People who need quick recovery can always use crutches to boost their recovery process. This is especially true in case you have a broken limb or after surgery. Crutches will help you to move around and prevent any form of strain on the injured area.

The good thing here is you aren’t tied to just one model of crutches. There are several types of crutches that you can choose from.

Even so, while the most important thing is to choose the right types of crutches for walking, it is also vital to remain comfortable on your crutches. In this post, I will show you how to make your crutches more comfortable anytime.

Add Some Padding

One of the easiest ways to make your crutches more comfortable is to add some padding around the crutches. The best place to add the padding’s is around the handles and on the top section of the crutches.

There are additional commercial padding’s that you can buy and fit. These ones are easy to fit on the crutches and will save time. You can also use a piece of cloth and roll it around the top of the crutches too.

With the right padding, crutches will seize to hurt your armpits. They won’t leave you with blisters, scratches, and swollen armpits as the padding provide a soft landing zone.

Understand Proper Use of Crutches

Most people believe that you should rest your armpits on the top of your crutches as you move. This is not right. If you do that, it puts your weight on the axillary nerve – nerves under your armpits.

In turn, it compresses the nerve and eventually triggers permanent nerve damage. When this happens, you will be left with so much pain spasms. In addition to that, you will also find it very uncomfortable to use the crutches. This is because the damage siphons the strength from your hands.

If you feel numbness and tingling around your armpits, you should know that you are using the crutches incorrectly. Simply stop resting the armpits on top of your crutches as you walk and instead suspend your weight with your arms.

Properly Adjust the Crutches

If you have crutches that you can adjust, then you can get the perfect fit size. This size of crutches will prevent you from straining and in turn, allow you to move around easily.

How to Adjust Crutches

  • Stand on an upright position – you can wear your regular shoes
  • Take the crutches and place them under your arms
  • Keep the bottom of your crutches a few inches from your foot and in the front
  • Then adjust then fix the crutches on that same adjustment

NOTE: Keeping the bottom of the crutches a few inches from your feet ensures that the top of your crutches sits approximately two inches below the armpit. It also allows for a slight bend in your elbows as you grab on the crutches so you can move easily. To find more exclusive content how to walk with a cane.

Choose Your Crutches Correctly

There are two types of crutches. We have the forearm crutches vs underarm crutches. How these crutches are used is different. The forearm crutches will prevent any weight around your body.

Forearm crutches will give your arms the weight-bearing job and prevent you from getting hurt. You can learn how to use forearm crutches as a way of getting comfortable.

Follow User Manual/Instructions

Crutches will come with user manuals. The manuals are there for a reason. They will show you how to use the crutches in the right way, how to adjust the crutches, and how to maintain and care for your crutches.

Make sure that you read every word on your user manual. It will help you also in assembling the crutches. With instructions, you can also learn how to walk on crutches in no time.

Conclusion

There are several things that you must look at if you want your crutches to be comfortable. From personal experience, you must know your height, strength, needs, and, more importantly, understand the type of injury that you have.

With the right understanding, you will find it easy to choose the best crutches for your use. In addition to that, you must take time to learn how to walk on crutches so that you don’t strain at all.

In case you strain, you might aggravate the injury, and this is dangerous. Learning how to use crutches properly is easy but needs a lot of patience too.

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