Saturday, August 26, 2017

How to Properly Fit Crutches to your Height

There are many people suffering injuries each day and result in being on crutches, most likely for the first time. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, there are 6.5 million people using durable medical equipment (DME), such as canes, walkers, or crutches to assist with their mobility. Before reading further on how to properly fit your crutches, it is recommended to consult with your doctor or therapist to offer proper guidance with adjusting and using any type of medical equipment, including underarm crutches. 

For those who are using crutches for the first time, fitting them can seem counterintuitive. In order to give your injury the best chance to recover and increase your mobility, it's important to do it correctly. The following are simple steps to make sure the adjustable standard adult crutches are fitted to your height. 

First, make sure you put on a pair of comfortable shoes that are ones you use regularly. Your shoes should be flat and offer good support. 

Second, relax your arms and let them hang down over your crutches. Lining up the crease of your wrist when your arm is draped over the crutch is the proper way to begin measuring the crutches to your height. If your wrist does not line up to the hand grip part of the crutch, simply adjust the height with the push button at the bottom of your crutch. You can also adjust the hand grip piece by unscrewing the wingnut and reposition the grip by using the other spots along the shaft of the crutch


















Finally, make sure there is 2-4 inches between your armpit and the crutch pad. Many people usually skips this part resulting in unnecessary pain and rashes from the consistent crutch use. Crutches are designed to get support from the arms and ribcage, not from the shoulders.The distance should provide plenty of space between yourself and the underarm crutch pad. It would offer room to add a padded cover for additional support and comfort. The top rated pads in the market today could be found by clicking here and checking out Crutcheze options in different styles and designs for foam padded crutch covers and hand grip sets. 







Wikihow- pictures and information