When you have a leg injury, a knee walker can be a good option for helping you get around. A knee walker is a type of adjustable scooter that your knee rests on, and helps improve mobility as well as stability. This isn’t used as often with permanent injuries, so more often than not a knee walker is rented out for temporary use. This makes it ideal for people who have had unforeseen injuries or who are traveling.
A better choice than crutches, knee walkers are easy to use and can even be a little fun. Here are a few reasons you should ask for a knee walker and leave the crutches at the doctor’s office.
Better Healing
With crutches, it’s tempting to set the foot down and bear weight on the injured leg. This type of cheating seems harmless, but it’s hard to gauge how much weight you are actually putting on the foot. You may apply too much pressure and inadvertently cause more damage and compromise the healing process.
There is also no concern about upper body strength when you choose a knee walker. With crutches, the arm strength is critical to move around, and that can leave you exhausted physically and even mentally. It’s hard to heal when you’re constantly tired, but knee walkers are easy to use and eliminate this problem. You can move around with ease without worrying about the exhaustion that might impede the healing process.
Clean and Functional
Crutches require the use of both hands, and that leaves you unable to carry anything. Even purses swung over your shoulder will sway and get in the way. Knee walkers, however, are simply more functional. Many of them can be operated with one hand, and that leaves your other hand free for carrying a cup of coffee or a handbag. You can also choose models with an included basket, so you can easily carry something small around with you.
Constant use of crutches leaves your hands filthy. Regardless of how clean you like to keep your hands, they will become dirty from the handgrips. This is because your hands will sweat, and the sweat on the handgrips will attract every speck of dirt and dust that’s floating in the air. You won’t work up that kind of a sweat with the knee walker, the handgrip will remain cleaner, and you will enjoy cleaner hands.
Greater Stability
Finally, crutches aren’t exactly stable. You need to be able to balance on them, and that’s harder than you might think. Snow and rain make surfaces slippery, and that can lead to serious accidents if you are trying to navigate on crutches. Knee walkers are more stable in most conditions except for snow. The hand brakes prevent the walker from picking up too much speed, and you won’t have to worry about losing your balance because a crutch slipped out from under you in the rain.
If you have an injury below the knee and need to use crutches, you may want to consider a knee walker as your mobility equipment of choice. They are actually fun to use, and they are far safer than crutches. They promote healing, keep your hands clean and make it easy to carry small items around with you. Before you go to be fitted for crutches, ask about a knee walker instead. Tri-Care Distribution offers a wide variety of mobility products. To see everything they carry, click here.
Hieline Mobility specializes in helping people have increased mobility with a wide variety of equipment available for rent. They rent out wheelchairs, knee scooters, power chairs, and even portable oxygen to Dallas residents.
