Walking on crutches is definitely not the easiest way to get around campus, but it’s the best way we know to keep weight off your injured leg, ankle or foot, and still keep you mobile enough to get where you need to go. Keeping weight off your injury is essential to promote effective healing and to avoid permanent tissue and bone damage. It should also help relieve your pain. Crutches can be risky to use and downright dangerous without some basic crutch walking knowledge, a little practice, and a lot of patience. To avoid nerve damage under your arms, low backache, fatigue, and having your crutches fly out from underneath you, here is some practical information that will help you get around safely and with a reasonable degree of skill.

Crutch Walking

The following techniques will help you gain confidence in your crutch walking skill and avoid embarrassing and painful falls:

1. Allow your injured leg to be as relaxed as possible. It often helps to slightly bend your knee.
2. It improves your balance to wear a sturdy, non-slippery, low-heeled shoe on your uninjured foot. Bare feet, sandals, clogs, high heels, or slippers provide little or no support to help keep you from falling.
3. Remember to bear your weight on your hand grips, not under your arms. Standing up straight will help you. When walking, lean forward from your uninjured ankle, and keep your back straight to avoid backache.
4. The easiest way to walk on crutches is the “swing-through gait”:
   • Always keep your crutch tips about twelve inches from each side of the good foot.
   • Place both tips forward and to the side of your body.
   • Bend your injured leg and keep it off the ground.
   • Lean forward and swing uninjured leg forward between the crutches.
   • Land in front of your crutches on the heel of your uninjured leg. f. Bring your crutches in front of you again and repeat.
5. Getting up and down stairs is a little trickier:
   • Going up, always lead with your uninjured leg. Put your weight on your hand grips. Raise your strong leg and land the foot on the step above you. Lean forward and straighten your strong leg to raise your body up. Bring crutches up.
   • Going down (1 or 2 steps), one at a time, put your crutches on the step below slightly wider than when walking. Put your weight on your hand grips. Extend your injured leg forward. Move your strong leg quickly to the step where your crutches are.
   • Going down (staircase), use both crutches together under one arm while holding the stair railing with your other hand. Follow steps in (b), but use the hand-railing in place of one crutch.
6. Sitting down in a chair:
   • Back up to the chair. Touch the chair with the back of your good leg. Extend injured leg forward. Put both crutches together and grasp both handgrips in one hand. Put other hand on chair arm. Lower yourself into the chair bending your good leg.

Crutch Fitting

Your crutches should fit so that there is room for two fingers between your underarm and the top of the crutch when the crutch tips are twelve inches from each side of your body (where you place them when you walk to give you balance). Proper crutch length allows your elbow to be flexed about 15-20% when you walk. Your body weight should be on the heels of your hands, not on your underarm area where excess pressure can cause permanent nerve damage. Crutches that are shorter than this will be wobbly and more difficult to control, making it easier for you to fall. Short crutches also encourage backache and fatigue from leaning over to use them. Crutches that are too long can increase the pressure under your arms. Your crutches should be properly adjusted before you leave the Health Center. If they do not feel right, let us know so we can help.

Getting Around Campus

• Allow yourself plenty of time to get where you are going. Rushing makes falling more likely.
• A backpack will help you carry what you need. Wear the pack properly to distribute the weight evenly.
• While walking, standing, or going up and down stairs, stay close to railings and large stationary objects. You can grab onto these if you lose your balance.
• Watch out for ice, spilled liquids, throw rugs, cords, or small animals and objects lurking underfoot.
• A WMU Handi-Van is also available to help you around campus. Tickets may be purchased at the Disabled Student Resources Services Office, 2210 Wilbur Avenue, in the former St. Aidan’s Chapel. For more information, call 387-2116.

Crutch Care

Check wingnuts, bolts, and rubber tips daily to avoid having crutches that slip or fall apart. Please return your crutches within 30 days of the date on which they were loaned to you or your deposit will not be returned.