NeuroTalk Support Groups - View Single Post - If you use any type of assistive device for your legs- questions

Joselita · 05-06-2007, 01:38 PM

IHH,

I use a forearm crutch. Actually, I have a pair of them, as that is the only way that I could buy them (or that my insurance could...and it was like $99 for the pair), but I usually only need to use one of them. So, I have a spare. I keep one in my car, and one in the house, and I also have two different canes (one is brown and one is blue and purple, of course! LOL) for when I am not walking far, and when I want to better "match" what I am wearing. LOL. We have to do what we can to make ourselves feel good and happy, right?

The reason that I started using the forearm crutch is because my PT guys told me that using a regular cane all of the time was causing damage to my wrist (and my lower back, because of bad gait pattern...I will get to that in a minute). Your wrists are simply not made to be totally responsible for weight bearing, and when you use a cane, that is basically what happens to whichever side (or both, in Sandel's case) you are using the cane on. They are better for short term use or for use only sometimes. However, if you are like me and need something to help you walk around on a daily basis, they are not good for "long term use" (I can get around without using them, or a cane, most times in the house, because the distances are so short, and there are always walls and whatnot for me to either brace myself on, or to catch my self with...depending on what is going on. Although, if I am having a lot of falling or stumbling going on, I will use whatever I need to where ever I need to...and there are times with my back problems that I have to use my cane in the house to help me get up from sitting and to get around too. I have other back troubles besides the RSD that is there, and that causes other problems in my leg, besides the RSD that is there. If that made any sense at all. LOL).

A forearm crutch helps to distribute the weight up and down your forearm, rather than having it all focused right there on the fragile wrist area. They are very comfortable to use too. Or, at least I have found them to be so. Handy too, as when you need to handle things in a store, you don't have to worry about what to do with the cane, or prop it up on some where, or just not to be able to handle whatever it is in any way at all for fear of falling. The cuffs on the forearm crutches have a...hinge type thingy that allows you to let go of the crutch's handle, and still lean your weight on the crutch using your forearm to do so. ROFL, I have found all kinds of uses for my crutches when I have been using them. If I have to stand in one place for a while (Like while standing in some type of line, or while waiting on someone in a store where there is no seat available), I have propped myself on my crutch, leaning on the cuff part, and hung my purse from the handle that I am not using at the moment. I have gotten some funny looks...but hey? I am kinda sorta used to that by now. LOL

If it weren't for my forearm crutches...well...I dont even want to think about what kind of shape I would be in now. I know that I wouldn't have been able to maintain as much independence, or stay out of having to use a wheel chair on a more permanent basis (I do use one when I go to anything that requires lots of walking and standing, like when we go visit my parents and do all kinds of touristy stuff), and when I want to be able to keep up with the people that I am with, without feeling bad about holding them back, or stopping them from being able to do whatever, because they want ME to be able to go along too. I will also use wheel chairs and electric carts when my pain is super bad, or I feel really weak and shakey (like I am liable to fall easily and often). If it weren't for my forearm crutches, I know that I wouldn't have been able to get out and do most things that I have been, and still am, able to do. They make me feel more sturdy, safe, and balanced than a cane or other crutch. If not for having them, I know that I wouldn't have been able to keep up with my kids throughout these past years, or be able to go and participate in all of the things that they have had going on, that I have been able to share in. They have made all of the difference in the world to me.

Forearm crutches only come up to the cuff that is about mid way to a little higher on your forearm, so there is none of the problems that come from the regular type of crutches (you know...the kind that make a person look like a walking clothes pin? LOL). We all know how those can rub, and hurt, and are very unwieldy to use even for a short while, let alone trying to use them in the long term. I DID try to use one of those for a while.....but that just was horrible, as it made me lurch around and be very unbalanced.

Oh. Another thing about using canes..or at least what I was told by my PT guys and by my Doc; they are HORRIBLE for your gait. When you have something going on with your lower extremities, you need to try to do everything that you can to try to keep as normal a gait pattern as possible. This is because of the lower back problems that having your gait thrown badly out of whack can cause. My gait is already thrown out of whack because of my RSD in my foot. Using a cane (or even worse, the other type of crutch) was only making it worse. Much worse than it had to be. Using the forearm crutch has really, REALLY helped to get me back to a more "normal" and much better gait pattern. This is important, because I really don't need any more back problems then I already have. NO ONE needs any back problems, and having a horrible, lurching around, leaning badly to one side type of gait will certainly cause them, and quickly!

So, because it is so very important for those of us with lower body RSD to keep moving as much as possible, we NEED to be able to have something that makes it easier for us to do that. Canes are bad on the wrists (mine was getting all swollen up....and my fingers were starting to get all tingling and numb from using my cane too much, and I got really scared about doing anything that could possibly help the RSD to spread), and bad for the back and gait. Regular crutches are hard to use, and hard on the shoulders and ribs, and make you feel unbalanced, even if you are using two of them. So, I really, REALLY recommend trying forearm crutches. If your PT guys talk to your Doc, or you do, and he writes a script for them, your insurance should cover the cost of them. That is just an added bonus, in my book!

As an aside here, to try to help show why it is so important for us to keep moving as much as possible....My son's best friend's mom got hurt in a car wreck back a few years ago. She is capable of walking, but not for far distances, and doesn't like to for many reasons (I am sure that pain is one of them). So, she has chosen to NOT walk as much as she possibly can. Because of that, she has not developed problems with blood clots in her legs. This is a pretty dangerous problem to have, as we all know....and it just rammed home to me even more the fact that we NEED to move as much as we possibly can, in order to reduce the possibilities of developing even worse and...as in the case with Jay's friend's mom...life threatening problems. It makes me feel very bad for this lady, as she is very close to my age, and also has two kids (Seth is graduating this year with Jay, but her daughter still has a couple of years left in High School)....and I understand the pain that she has, and how it does hurt to be up and walking for very long. But, getting up and standing and walking even a little bit throughout the day is very, very important.

Anyway...I hope that you will look into seeing about forearm crutches. My PT guys had a pair there at their place that they let me try, to see how they worked and felt. Maybe you can see if yours does too? Oh. One thing..I also have RSD in my right arm....although it isn't as bad as my lower body (and initial) RSD locations. When I have put the cuff of the forearm crutch on that arm, as long as I have the cuff loosened (not tight, but still where my arm can't come out of the little gappy thing in the cuff on accident or anything), it doesn't cause my RSD in my arm any problems or pain. I realize that might be different for other folks....but still, it is a good thing to look into, and just see if it would be helpful for you to use. Once you start getting more and more back problems, believe me, things just get worse....even when you sometimes think that they can't. I know...I have been there, and will probably be there again.

I hope that you (and everyone else too!) are having a good day today, and that the weather where you are isn't crazy and causing you more pain or flares ups. I do best in the warmer months, and I am glad that it isn't cold anymore...but I still can't wait for Summer to get here! Summer is my best time of year! LOL (I am one that does better in the heat...not in the cold or cool. It is just the humidity that gets me here in the warmer times...like now, when it is super humid out. Later in the Summer, the humidity should drop some, even for here. YAY!!! LOL)

Love and ((hugs))
Jose