How to Walk With Crutches, Stairs Included

To walk with crutches, move both crutches forward a short step, bring the injured leg forward between them, then step through with your stronger leg while your hands take the weight. On stairs, the stronger leg leads going up, and the crutches and injured leg lead going down. Before any of that, the crutches need to be set to the right height, and you need to know how much weight the injured leg is allowed to take.

Know your weight-bearing instructions

The team treating you should tell you how much weight can go through the injured leg. The terms you may hear are:

• Non-weight-bearing: the foot stays off the ground completely.
• Touch or toe-touch weight-bearing: the foot may rest on the floor for balance only.
• Partial weight-bearing: some weight is allowed, often described as a portion of your body weight.
• Weight-bearing as tolerated: as much as comfort allows.

If nobody told you, ask before leaving hospital or phone the clinic. Too much load on a healing fracture or repair can undo progress.

Setting the right height

Underarm crutches

Stand upright in your usual shoes. The top of each crutch should sit about two or three finger-widths below your armpit, and the hand grips should line up with your wrist crease when your arms hang down. Holding the grips, your elbows should bend slightly.

Elbow (forearm) crutches

These are the more common type in the UK. Set the hand grip at wrist-crease height with your arms relaxed, and position the cuff on the forearm a little below the elbow so it does not dig in when the arm bends.

Your weight should go through your hands, never through your armpits. Leaning on the tops of underarm crutches can press on nerves and cause numbness in the arms.

Walking with crutches step by step

Non-weight-bearing

1. Stand on your good leg with the crutches slightly ahead and out to the sides, forming a triangle.
2. Move both crutches forward a short distance together.
3. Press down through your hands and swing or hop the good leg forward to land level with or just past the crutches, keeping the injured foot clear of the ground.
4. Repeat with small, steady steps.

Partial or full weight-bearing

1. Move both crutches forward.
2. Step the injured leg forward level with the crutches, putting only the permitted weight on it.
3. Step the good leg through, past the crutches.

Look ahead rather than at your feet, and keep steps short. Arms and shoulders tire quickly at first because they are doing unfamiliar work, so plan rests.

How to use crutches on stairs

A handy memory aid is "up with the good, down with the bad".

Going up

1. Stand close to the bottom step. If there is a rail, hold it with one hand and carry the spare crutch in the other, or use a single crutch on the free side as you have been shown.
2. Step up with the good leg first.
3. Bring the injured leg and the crutch up to the same step.

Going down

1. Stand close to the edge of the step.
2. Lower the crutch or crutches to the step below.
3. Bring the injured leg down, then step the good leg down to join it.

Take one step at a time and have someone stand below you the first few times. If stairs feel unsafe, sitting down and shuffling up or down on your bottom is a perfectly sensible alternative. Where there are stairs at home, a physiotherapist will usually check your technique before discharge.

Sitting down and standing up

To sit, back up until you feel the chair against your legs, hold both crutches in one hand, reach for the armrest with the other and lower yourself slowly with the injured leg out in front. To stand, reverse it: shuffle forward, push up from the armrest, then take a crutch in each hand once you are steady.

Safety at home

• Clear loose rugs, cables and clutter from the routes you use most.
• Wipe up spills straight away; crutch tips slide on wet floors.
• Wear supportive, closed shoes rather than slippers.
• Carry things in a backpack or a bag across your body, and use a trolley in the kitchen.
• Check the rubber tips regularly and replace them when the tread wears smooth.

More ideas for setting up the house are in recovering from knee surgery at home, and most of them apply to any leg injury.

Moving on from crutches

As your leg gets stronger, you may be advised to drop to one crutch, held on the side opposite the injured leg, and later to a walking stick. The same principles carry over; see how to walk with a cane. If you are recovering from a fracture, how long a broken bone takes to heal explains why the timing differs from person to person.