Mobility problems are an issue for me. For about a year I couldn't walk or stand at all (that was when the RSD spread to my back and upper body). I did many months of physical therapy and now I use a rollator (I'm only 29). It feels awkward sometimes to be using one at my age (especially when old people try to take it away from me at work because they think it must be for customers...lol). But honestly you get used to it and it has made my quality of life SO much better because it allows me a freedom of movement and activity that a cane or crutches don't. I can carry things with it, always have a chair with me, can kneel on it so both hands are free (wheels locked of course), and any number of other things that are not possible when I use a cane. It helps the pain so much and the balance too (I have bad balance and a tendency to fall ever since the spread). That said...over time I have been able to walk around the house a little either without anything to assist (for very short periods) or with just a cane. I have to hug walls and furniture if I do this so I have something to touch for support if I need it...but even that little bit of freedom where I don't have to use anything makes me feel good emotionally.

Another benefit to the rollator that I have found is that people don't bump into me and give me lots of space when I am in a public place. Even with a cane or crutches people had a tendency to get too close or trip over the cane/crutches...but with the rollator they give me lots of room. It creates a bubble around me and that is huge when you are out in the masses of people. And my walking gait is SO much better with the rollator. It's amazing how badly you walk with crutches or even a cane sometimes because it's not a "normal" walking motion and you can mess up other parts of your body by not walking correctly. I have found everything is much better off with the rollator because I was able to focus on walking better when I started using it as part of my therapy. I can walk at a better pace with it too because I feel more stable where as with a cane or crutches I have to go very slow and take very deliberate steps.

So as awkward as it might seem to use a rollator at your age (whatever that might be) I would say the benefits FAR outweigh and awkwardness. Mine has given me my life back and allowed me to return to work full time in the same position I had prior to RSD (I had to take a year and a half off when I couldn't walk after the spread of my RSD). I was able to order mine off of amazon.com and got one with bigger wheels (8 inch...better for bumpy and uneven surfaces), one that was made for shorter people (as I am only 5ft tall), one with a canvas basket (so I don't have to remove it to fold it up and put in the car), and one in pink (just because it makes me feel better to have one in a brighter cheery color). It's truly worked out great and I only rarely am made to feel weird about having one. Most people I work with say they don't even notice the thing anymore because I am able to do my job (and better than most). The other day I responded to a customer who had fallen (92 year old woman) and we called the paramedics. While I was waiting there while they questioned the customer and her daughter, the one paramedic pointed to my walker and asked if it was hers (the customer who had fallen). That really made me feel awkward...but I can tell you that this was an example of someone who SHOULD have had a walker and probably didn't use one because she's self conscious (my grandma is like this). We could tell from the video that she was using a shopping cart as a walker and she fell after she took two steps away from it as they were leaving. So sad...I don't know the details but I think she broke her hip falling. So not worth it...much better to be safe and maintain your freedom than feel self conscious about how it looks to have a walker.

Took many months of therapy to get to the point I am at now with the rollator...but it was one of the best things my physical therapist did to help me was recommend it. Good luck.